Princesses, Butterflies, Kidnappers, and Puppies
by softballgal13
Summary: A/U Lulu and Dante learn that one night can completely change their lives, and the lives of their loved ones as well.
1. Police Escort

Author's Note: Tell me what you think! School starts next week so updates will be a LOT less frequent on all of my stories. There will be **intentional** typos in Lola's speech. Not so sure where this is going, so any requests?

* * *

Chapter 1: Police Escort

"Mama, mama, mama!" Lola Spencer, three year-old daughter of Lulu Spencer shouted. "Look-it!"

Lulu looked up from the park bench to see her daughter pointing towards the grassy field next to the playground. Walking over, she bent down to her daughter's level and pulled her close.

"What is it, baby?" she asked.

"Look-it the pretty butterfly!" she said excitedly.

"I see it, sweetie!" Lulu replied.

"Can I go catch it?" she asked.

"You can try," Lulu told her as she watched her daughter run over and try to catch it. She felt her heart flutter at the sight of her child, her obsession, her life. As a result of a drunken one-night stand with some random stranger, she was a complete accident, but Lola was the best thing that had ever happened to Lulu. She had planned on eventually finding her baby's father, but a few months after they had gotten together she learned he had been killed in a mob war. He turned out to be a total dirtbag: addicted to drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol. He was a mob prince who had raped and/or murdered dozens of people and committed countless other crimes. At first she had been ashamed to be carrying the child of a man like him, but once she had gotten around to the idea of being a mother she knew she had to keep her baby.

Lulu was pulled out of her reverie by a clap of thunder overhead. Her head snapped up and she noticed that the sky had turned a dark gray. _You've got to be kidding me_, she thought, grabbing her purse running in her mile-high heels to Lola.

"Lola, we have to go home now. It's about to rain, see?" she asked, pointing to the sky.

Lola gasped. "Oh, no, mama! Let's go!" she exclaimed, grabbing her mother's hand and pulling her away. Lulu couldn't help but chuckle at the responsible behavior of her daughter. Sometimes Lulu thought Lola tried to be the mother instead of her.

"Mama! I feeled a raindrop!" Lola said slapping her hand to her head to cover the drop of water.

"Me, too," Lulu said. "We better hurry if we don't want to get wet!"

In just a few minutes it had started to downpour. Lulu and Lola were soaked to the bone, trying to see through the rain as they ran back to their apartment. Lulu stopped to gather Lola into her arms, holding her close as she ran. _Why did we have to walk to the park?_ she asked herself.

"Mama," Lola whined, "I'm r-r-really cold!" she said over-dramatically.

"I know, baby, we'll be home..." she trailed off, not really knowing where they were. Glancing up at the street sign, she could just make out the words 'Ridgewood Avenue'. _Where the hell is that?_ she asked herself. Looking closer, she read, 'Berkley Heights, New York'.

"Berkley Heights?" she whispered to herself. They were in Port Charles just a few minutes ago, how did they end up two towns away?

"Mama, where are we?" Lola cried.

"I don't know, honey, but we'll be safe soon, okay?" she reassured her.

Lola nodded against her mother's shoulder as Lulu pulled her closer.

* * *

Dante Falconeri tried to navigate his police car through the torrential downpour in Berkley Heights.

"Why did it have to be today?" he muttered to himself. He was stuck out here an hour from home all because the police officers of Berkley Heights were inexperienced and lazy, he had to come out here just because of a stupid thrift store robbery.

Peering through the windshield, he thought he could make out a person walking down the street through the rain. Getting closer, he saw he or she wasn't carrying an umbrella, but a child. He drove faster so he could catch up with them.

Lulu looked behind her and saw a police car pulling up behind her. "What did I do?" she whispered to herself.

As Dante got closer, he noticed it was a woman, and a pretty one at that. She was wearing impossibly high stilettos and carrying a designer purse. He noticed the child in her arms was also a girl. He rolled down his window and leaned out.

"Can I help you get anywhere?" he called out.

Lulu looked at his car and noticed it was from the PCPD. "Sure," she called back. Dante leaned back to open the back door so they could get in. "Thanks," she said when she had gotten in.

"No problem," Dante replied. "Do you live around here?" he asked.

"I actually live in Port Charles. Is that where you're headed?"

"Yeah," Dante replied. "I'm Dante Falconeri, by the way."

"Lulu Spencer," she said. "This is my daughter, Lola."

"Hi!" Lola said. She stood up to and her head through the window in the plastic wall that separated the front seat from the back. "I'm three years old!" she announced proudly.

Dante chuckled and said, "Wow, you're getting pretty old, huh?"

"Lola, sit down," Lulu said, pulling her daughter back onto her lap. Dante glanced up into the rearview mirror, staring at Lulu for a few seconds before turning his eyes back to the road. _God, she's the most beautiful thing in the world._

"Nuh-uh! I'm not _that_ old. My cousin Spencer, he's fourteen. That's old," Lola told him, not bothering to answer her mother.

Dante laughed again. "So, any chance you're related to Lucky Spencer?" he asked.

"Yeah! He's my uncle! And he's also my mama's brother. And Cam and Jake and Aiden are my cousins. Those are his kids," Lola said before Lulu could answer. "Do you have any kids? Or a wife?"

"Lola! That is none of your business!" Lulu said.

"Oh, it's okay. No, I don't have a wife or kids."

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Lola asked.

Dante chuckled. "No, I don't."

"Really? Cause I don't have a daddy. Or a husband or a boyfriend for my mama," Lola said. "I never gotted to meet my daddy."

"I'm sorry," Dante said.

"It's okay! My mama's real nice, and she gives me candy sometimes. So it's okay," Lola said.

Lulu and Dante both laughed at Lola's comment, and he glanced up to look at her again. Lulu noticed she should have stopped her when she had asked about his family, but she had been staring at the part of Dante she could see for the past fifteen minutes.

"And she reads me stories every night," Lola continued. "Wanna know somethin'? she asked.

"Sure, what?" Dante asked.

"Yesterday, my mama read me a story about a princess and a dragon! Did ya know that? And then guess what? The princess told the dragon he was being very not nice and then he said sorry and they had a tea party!" she said, erupting into giggles. "But the dragon eated all the cookies!"

Dante smiled and said, "That sounds like a good story."

"Uh-huh. It was. I like stories about princesses and dragons cuz I like princesses and I wanna be a princess when I grow up. But I don't wanna have a mean dragon in my story. That would be bad. And wanna know what else?"

"What?" Dante asked, taken by the little girl.

"We're about to move to a new apartment and we're gonna paint my room pink! I really like the color pink. It's pretty. We're gonna live in apartment number C14!"

"It's 14C, baby," Lulu corrected.

Dante found himself staring at her through the mirror for what must have been the millionth time that day, captivated by her beauty. He admired the love she showed for her daughter... and everything else about her. _Could I really be falling for her after just meeting her?_

"Sounds like fun," Dante said. "Did you just move here?" he asked.

"No, we've lived here for a while, we just needed more space," Lulu told him.

"My mama was born here!" Lola said.

"Really? Well, I just moved here a few months ago," Dante shared with Lola.

"For real? Wow!" Lola exclaimed. "Mama, are we almost home yet?"

"Almost, sweetie. Just a few more minutes," Lulu replied, once again unable to take her eyes off him.

"Mr. Police Officer?" she asked.

"You can call me Dante," he said.

"Ah-kay. Thanks for driving me and my mama home. It was getting _really_ cold out there in the rain," she said.

"Well, you're very welcome, Lola," Dante said.

"Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Lulu asked, pulling out her wallet.

"Oh, no, I couldn't. I was going this way, anyway, and it was nice hanging out with you and Lola," Dante said.

"No, really, if it wasn't for you, we would have had to walk a good two or three hours to get home. And I probably would have broken my heels, so at least let me pay you for that."

"Nope, sorry," Dante denied her.

"Gas money?" asked Lulu.

"No," Dante said.

"Oh, come on, if you don't take it I'll find out where you live from Lucky and you'll just get it in the mail," Lulu told him.

"I'm not going to take your money, really. It was worth it," Dante said.

"That's our apartment!" Lola interrupted, pointing through the rain at the brick building.

"Are you sure?" he asked, and Lola nodded. "Because this is where I live, too."

"Really? Woah!" Lola said.

Dante pulled into the parking lot and took out an umbrella before getting out of the car. Lulu reached for the door handle, but before she could open it Dante was there, helping them get out. They huddled under the umbrella and ran into the building.

"Thank you so much. Really, this is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me," Lulu said honestly once they had gotten in the elevator.

"It was my pleasure, really," he said.

"Thanks!" Lola said, running up to him and giving him a hug. Dante returned the embrace before leaning down to ruffle her blonde curly hair.

"No problem, kiddo," Dante replied. The elevator reached the third floor and the trio stepped out. "See you around," he said, placing a hand on Lulu's shoulder. He felt an unexpected shiver run down his spine, as did Lulu. They both tried to hide it as they turned toward each of their apartments.

"See you," Lulu said quietly.

"Bye-bye!" Lola said, waving her hand frantically.

Dante smiled and unlocked his door, but looked over his shoulder first to find out where the two girls lived. He saw Lulu glance back and smile, and he grinned in return.

He entered his apartment and leaned back against the door. He had never in his life met a woman who had that effect on him.

Lulu walked inside and sank down on the couch. She had never in her life met a man who had that effect on her.


	2. It's a Date

Disclaimer: I do not own General Hospital, any of the characters (except for Lola), or anything else you might recognize.

* * *

Chapter 2: It's a Date

Lulu woke up to the feeling of Lola bouncing on her bed.

"Mama! Wake up!" she said.

"What is it, baby?" Lulu asked, sitting her daughter down next to her on the bed.

"It's bwekfast time!"

"Lola, it's only 6:30! We get to sleep late on Saturdays, remember?" Lulu asked.

"I 'member. But today is a special day!" Lola said with a twinkle in her hazel eye.

"What day it it?" Lulu asked tiredly. Waking up at 6:30 was not ideal after pulling an all-nighter for work.

"Cam and Jake and Aiden are coming to sleep over tonight!" Lola shrieked excitedly and barreled out of the room. Lulu sighed and flopped back against her pillow.

Lulu walked into the kitchen, where Lola was sitting at the table. She had put two plates on the table, and was sitting with a knife and fork in her hand and a napkin tucked in the front of her shirt.

"What are you doing?" Lulu asked, suppressing a giggle.

"I seen this on TV once," she said.

"You don't have to do everything you see on TV," Lulu said pulling the napkin from Lola's pajama shirt and taking the knife from her hand. "And little girls don't use knives."

"Sorry mama," Lola said.

"What do you want for breakfast, princess?"

"I want chocolate chip waffles with ice cream and chocolate syrup and whipped cream and-" said Lola.

"Woah, woah, since when is that a breakfast food?" Lulu asked.

"I had it at Uncle Nikolas and Spencer's house when you went to French with Aunt Maxie. The cook made me anything I wanted! But I told him not to tell you 'cause you might get mad," she admitted.

"First of all, you can tell me anything, baby. I'll try not to get mad, okay? And second, it's France, not French," Lulu said. "But we can have waffles, if you want. And if you're good you just might get some whipped cream on it."

Lola clapped her hands together and shouted, "Yay!"

After a while, Lulu and Lola had moved their breakfast to the couch so Lola could watch cartoons. Occasionally she would laugh at something she thought was silly or make a comment about something that happened on the show.

"Look-it!" Lola shouted laughing. "That tree talked! Trees don't talk," she scoffed. Pointing at a commercial, she said, "Didya hear? She said duh!I say that sometimes. I say it to you, then you say it back. Ready? Duh!"

"Duh!" Lulu said back.

"Duh!" Lola said.

"Duh!"

"Duh!"

"Duh!"

"Duh!"

Before long they had erupted into laughter, Lola falling onto Lulu's lap. Suddenly Lola sat bolt upright, her eyes widening and her mouth forming an "o".

"What's the matter?" Lulu asked.

"I gotta go!" Lola shouted running into her bedroom.

Lulu curiously followed her daughter into the other room. By the time she had gotten there, Lola had torn through her the drawers and was searching under her bed.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

"My bunny rabbit!" Lola said, continuing to strip down her room. Lulu walked over to her and scooped her up into her arms. She noticed her face was streaked with tears, which she brushed away with her fingertips.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Calm down. Do you remember the last time you had it?" she asked sitting down on the pink comforter of the bed.

"No," Lola moaned.

"Can you try to think of it?" Lulu said.

"Uhh... Maybe I brought it to park," said Lola. "Could we go back and see if it's there?"

"Oh, baby, we can go, but I don't know if it's gonna be there. Remember we got lost?" Lulu could see the tears brimming in Lola's eyes and her bottom lip trembled.

"No, don't cry, it's okay. We'll find it," Lulu said.

* * *

Dante walked over to his police cruiser that morning after getting ready to go to work. He got in the front seat and turned around to back out of the parking lot. He noticed a flash of pink against the gray of the seat. Looking closer, he noticed it was a stuffed rabbit. He picked it up, trying to figure out whose it could be. After thinking for a moment, he realized Lola must have left it in his car when he had given her and Lulu a ride home.

He got out of the car and went back inside the apartment building. He rode the elevator up to their floor and approached their door. Truthfully, he was glad to have a reason to see Lulu and Lola again, well, mostly Lulu. He was also nervous about seeing the one woman who had ever had that effect on him, and that was just from being in the same car as her. Knocking on the door, he waited a few seconds before it was opened.

"Hi," Lulu said. She was wearing a purple tank top and green striped pants. _Damn, _he thought. Pajamas had never looked so amazingly sexy.

"Hi," Dante replied. "I, um, found this in my car, I think it's Lola's," he said holding up the toy.

A high-pitched scream and the sound of feet pounding against the floor interrupted their conversation. Suddenly Lola was throwing herself on to him in a hug.

"You found it!" she shrieked. "I love you!"

Dante and Lulu laughed as she continued to hold on to him. Lulu gently pried Lola off of him and Lola proceeded to run around the living room in shrieks of laughter.

"Here, come in," she said, opening the door wider.

"Ah, wow, she really loves that rabbit, doesn't she?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, my mom gave it to her when she was born. And since she became catatonic again about a year ago, it's the only thing she has left of her," Lulu said sitting down on the couch. "Sorry, you probably didn't need to know that."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm so sorry about your mom. It must be so hard on both of you, especially since Lola is so young," he said sitting next to her.

"Yeah, there's not a lot of solid support in my family for us. My mom obviously can't help, my dad... well, I'm pretty sure you've heard of Luke Spencer, being a cop, and he's not a very good role model. My brother Nikolas is a Cassadine, and I try to keep Lola as far away from them as possible, and my other brother Ethan is always off on some excursion around the world. So basically it's Lucky and his wife Maxie and his boys," Lulu babbled.

"Your family sounds a lot like mine," Dante said, flashing her a charming smile.

"I doubt your family is as dysfunctional as mine," Lulu challenged.

"Well, I grew up with just my mom in Bensonhurst, and she told me she had no idea who my father was. So I became a cop and was sent here to take down the Corinthos organization. Just when I was about to arrest him, he shoots me in the chest," he watched as Lulu's eyebrows shot skyward and her eyes became impossibly huge. "Yeah, so then my ma runs in the room telling him that I'm his son."

"Oh, my God!" Lulu interrupted. "That's crazy."

"Yeah. It's a small word, huh? Anyway, so suddenly I have two brothers and a sister, Michael, Morgan and Kristina."

"Oh, Michael and Morgan? Their mom is my cousin," Lulu said.

"Really? Wow, I guess we're kind of tied for dysfunction-ality," Dante said.

"Yep," Lulu said.

Lola suddenly came screaming into the room, still holding her rabbit and jumping around like a crazy person. She jumped up onto the couch and climbed on her mother's lap and said something into her ear.

"Mama, I think we should invite Mr. Dante over for dinner," she whispered.

"But Cam and Jake and Aiden are coming, remember?" Lulu said quietly.

"So? Hey Dante, do you wanna have dinner with me and my mama and Cam and Jake and Aiden?" she asked, crawling across the couch over to him.

"I would love to, but I wouldn't want to interfere with your family dinner," Dante objected, wishing with all of his heart that he could agree.

"You can come if you want. We wouldn't mind. Plus, I can use all the help I can get," Lulu said.

"Well, if you'd really be fine with it, sure. What time should I come over?" he asked.

"Um, is seven good?" Lulu asked.

"Yeah, I get off work at five, sot that's fine," Dante said.

"But one thing. You're not allowed to bring any food," she said.

Dante sighed. "Okay. See you then."

_Wow,_ Lulu thought, staring at his ass as he left the apartment. _It's a wonder he's not with anyone._

Lulu was extremely nervous. She had never moved this fast before, a date the day after meeting. But, then again, was it really a date? _I hope,_ she thought.

Dante went back down to the parking lot feeling ecstatic. _Thank God for that little girl_, he thought. He could tell Lulu's heart had been damaged in past relationships, and he knew it probably would have taken a while for him to get a date with her. If you could call it a date...


	3. The Gang's All Here

Author's Note: THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU to all of my reviewers! Love you all! I couldn't do this without you! You guys rock! I hope you guys enjoy rest of the story. P.S. I know the ages don't make sense. Jason and Lulu are very close friends.

* * *

Chapter 3: The Gang's All Here

"Mama, when are they gonna get here?" Lola asked.

Lulu glanced at the clock. "Five minutes sooner than the last time you asked me," she said.

"But how long?" she asked.

"They're coming at six, and it's five thirty. That's thirty minutes, baby," Lulu said, turning her eyes back to Crimson's latest issue. She always got a small thrill from reading her name next to Maxie's in the tiny print on the inside cover.

"Yay!" Lola squealed, clapping her hands together. "Cam and Jake and Aiden, Cam and Jake and Aiden, Cam and Jake and Aiden..." she chanted.

"Oh, Lola I forgot to tell you, Aunt Maxie called and said Robin had to cancel, so Colin is coming, too," Lulu said. Maxie and Lucky hadn't wanted to leave all four of the kids with Lulu, especially with Colin being only eighteen months. They had arranged to leave the baby with Robin, but she had been called into the hospital last minute, as had with Patrick. They had tried to find another babysitter, but Lulu had insisted. She loved spending time with Colin, plus, he was the product of her older brother and best friend, so...

"Mama, can we play this game?" she asked, pointing to her princess board game.

"They're all boys, honey, I don't think they like princesses," she said.

"Oh, yeah, I forgetted. What about this one?" she asked, holding up her pony-themed video game.

"I don't think they'll like that one, either," Lulu said.

"Hm... how 'bout we play dress-up?"

"Lola, do you have any boy's dress-up clothes?" she questioned with a sigh.

"Uh... no," said Lola.

"They won't like that either, then."

"Aw! But I love playing dress-up!" she pouted, placing her little hands on her little hips.

"Well, how about you can dress up before they get here?" Lulu suggested.

"Ah-kay!" Lola said, running into her bedroom. A few minutes later, she came back wearing a bright green tutu, a sparkly blue t-shirt, a fuzzy pink crown, an orange boa, neon striped leggings and purple heels. In her hand she held a light-up fairy wand and around her neck were several layers of colorful beaded necklaces.

"How do I look?" she asked striking a pose.

Lulu laughed. "I think you look absolutely adorable."

"Thanks, mama!" Lola replied. "I hope-" she was interrupted by a knock on the door. "They're here!" she screamed.

Barreling towards the door, she turned the handle and almost tore the door off its hinges before realizing the chain lock was still closed. She jumped up as high as she could, trying to reach the lock. Lulu held her down with her hand and opened the door. Lola shrieked in excitement as she tried to wrap her stubby arms around her older cousins.

"Hey, guys," Lulu said as she pulled the kids inside, making way for her brother and sister-in-law. Colin smiled and reached out for his aunt when he saw her, and Maxie transferred her baby into Lulu's arms. "Hi, Colin!" she cooed.

"Ah-lu!" he babbled, trying to say 'Aunt Lulu'.

"Hi, baby! Aren't you getting big?" said Lulu.

"Hi, Aunt Lulu!" five year-old Aiden said, wrapping his arms around Lulu's legs.

"Hey, Aiden," she said, sitting down on the couch with Colin still in her arms. Cam sat down on the armchair and reached for the remote. He was ten, and being the oldest he was trying to grow up fast to be free of his little brothers. As much as he loved them, it was the cool thing to do.

"Nope," Lucky said, grabbing the remote from Cameron's hand. Cameron scowled and crossed his arms, while Colin reached out for his daddy and Lucky picked him up.

"Okay, here's all Colin's stuff," Maxie said, handing Lulu the over-sized, designer diaper bag. And here are the sleeping bags, and the boy's bags, and their pillows, and Colin's playpen."

"Okay," Lulu said, trying to take all of the stuff into her arms but dropping half of it on the floor.

"I got it," Maxie said, picking up the stuff off of the floor. "Come on," she said, pulling Lulu into her room. After she had closed the door, she dropped everything on the floor and turned to her friend. "Okay, now why don't you tell me what you're hiding?" she asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lulu said as she turned to set up Colin's playpen, which Maxie pulled away from her.

"I know when you're not telling me, and I know you're doing it now. What is it?" Maxie asked, then gasped. "Is it a guy?"

"Maxie..." she protested, sitting down on her bed.

"Just spit it out, Lulu!" she said.

"Okay, so there's this guy, Dante and he lives across the hall, and he drove me and Lola home from the park when it was raining, and he's a cop, and he was super sweet to Lola, and he's just so..." Lulu trailed off. She fell back against her bed and grabbed a pillow, groaning loudly into it. Pulling it off her face, she said, "and he's coming over tonight for dinner. Lola invited him."

"You better not be having sex while my kids are in the other room!" Maxie said sternly.

"Maxie, come on! It's not like that. At least, not yet... I mean, it might be, eventually, but I don't know if... Ugh. Never mind," Lulu said. "I mean, it's just so weird, I haven't dated since I got pregnant. I don't know if I'm ready for this, and Lola is and always will be my number one priority, you know that!"

"Of course, Lulu. But Lola doesn't have to take up all of the attention in your life. I know you don't like to think about it, but some day Lola's going to want to spend all of her time with her friends. I mean, just look at Cameron! He's only ten and he's already starting to ignore us. And even if Lola is going to be number one, that doesn't mean there can't be a number two. I mean, once the boys are asleep me and Lucky still have time to get it on," Maxie said insightfully.

"Ah, lalala, I don't want to hear about you and Lucky 'getting it on'!" Lulu said.

"Ugh, fine," said Maxie rolling her eyes. She looked at her watch and said, "Well, I'd better get going. I got a hot date with my man!"

"Maxie!"

"All right, sorry! But who am I supposed to talk about my amazing sex with?" she asked.

Lulu held a hand in front of Maxie's face. "Just shush."

Finally Lucky and Maxie had left and Lulu was left with five kids to deal with. She sat down on the couch and tried to get the kids to agree on a T.V. show. Glancing at the clock, she noticed it was already 6:45. Looking around the apartment, she noticed it was a complete mess. The floor was littered with toy cars, dolls, costumes, coloring books, crayons, and other things belonging to Lola.

"Crap!" she muttered, handing the remote to Cameron. She ran around the apartment bent over, picking up various objects and trying to put them in their correct places. When she had done a decent job she went into her room and pulled out some clothes she felt were slightly sexy but still appropriate for a family dinner. She went back into the living room wearing a white v-neck button-down skirt with ruffles on the collar and a gray pencil skirt. She slipped on a pair of red heels and ran a brush through her hair. She assessed the boy's outfits and decided they were nice enough. Cam had a polo shirt and jeans, as did Jake, and Aiden was wearing a striped long-sleeved shirt and tan khakis. Colin was wearing a blue onesie and a pair of tiny blue sweatpants, but it didn't really matter what he was wearing. She ran into the kitchen and started to make dinner, but had just heated up the water when there was a knock on the door.

She over the door, pausing to look in the mirror before taking a deep breath and opening the door.

"You look beautiful."

* * *

Franco threw the picture he had down on the desk. It showed Dante Falconeri, the detective who was was working on taking him down walking into his apartment building with Lulu Spencer, a good friend of Jason Morgan, his arch enemy/man crush. He had noticed in Lulu's arms was a little girl. After some research, he had discovered that she was Lulu's daughter, Lola.

She was perfect.


	4. Dinner and a Show

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for making this my most popular story!

* * *

Chapter 4: Dinner and a Show

"Thank you," she replied bewildered. Nobody had ever said that to her on a first date, or any date. _But it's not a date, _she thought, the cynical side of her coming out. _Yes, it is! _the hopeless romantic part of her retorted. _Ugh!_ her whole mind said. "You look quite dashing yourself," she said, cocking an eyebrow in an attempt to imitate one of those stuck-up, filthy rich snobs she had once met at a Crimson meeting.

"Why, thank you, my dear," he said in the same tone.

"Won't you come in?" she asked dramatically, gesturing inside.

"Indeed I will," he said, before they both started laughing.

"What's so funny!" Lola cried from where she was playing with her cousins. "Dante!" she said, realizing he was here and running over to give him a hug.

"Hey, Lola," he said, ruffling her hair.

"Dante, this is Cameron, Jake, Aiden and Colin, ages ten, seven, five, and eighteen months.

Aiden ran over and stopped short just in front of Dante. "Hi," he said, waving his hand.

"Hey, buddy," said Dante.

"'Sup?" Cameron said, before turning his eyes back to the television.

"Are you sure he's ten and not fifteen?" Dante whispered to Lulu, who grinned.

"Dante, do you wanna play a game with us?" Lola asked, pulling him over to the sofa where she had been playing Sorry with Jake and Aiden. Lulu walked over and picked up Colin, placing him in his highchair and placing a handful of cereal on his tray before retreating silently back to the kitchen.

Lulu smiled as she continued cooking dinner. Dante was so good with the kids, it was a wonder he didn't have any of his own. Lulu's mind began to wander to very interesting places... no. No, no, no.

But it was so tempting. Dante was incredibly kind, amazing with the kids, down to earth, he was damn sexy, and he had called her beautiful, something she had only heard from her parents and maybe once from her brother.

"So, I move my piece there?" Dante said, pointing towards the square on the board.

"Nooooooo, you go there," she said.

"You never played this game before, didya?" Aiden asked with an accusing look.

"Uh, no, the only game I played when I was a kid was stickball."

"What's that?" asked Jake.

"Only the greatest game in the world! It's like baseball, but you play it with a stick and a rubber ball. Best part is you can play it in any street you want," Dante explained.

"I wanna play!" Lola said.

"Me, too!" Jake said.

"Me, too!" said Aiden.

Cam grunted from his spot on the couch.

"Well, it's pretty late, so maybe another time, okay?"

"Ohhhh-kayyyyyy," said Aiden.

"Dinner!" Lulu shouted from the other room, and all six of them came running.

"What's cookin', mama?" Lola asked as she did every single night.

"Chicken Courdon Bleu," Lulu said.

"Yesss!" she shouted, jumping up on her chair and raising her fists to the sky.

After everyone had eaten more than their fill, they all wound up in the living room.

"Mama, can we watch a movie?" Lola asked.

"Why don't you ask everyone else?"

"Yeah!" said Aiden.

"Uh-huh," Jake said.

"Whatever," said Cameron.

"Sure," Dante said.

"Ah-kay," Lola said. "Here's the movies we got," she said, running over to the cabinet and pulling it open. "We got Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Barbie and the Fairy Princess, Snow White, Polly Pocket Waterworld Adventure..."

The three boy's faces wrinkled in disgust.

"Can we watch a _good_ movie?" Jake asked.

"But those are good movies!" Lola said.

Jake and Aiden went over next to Lola and looked at the movies inside.

"How 'bout Transformers? Or Star Wars, or Indiana Jones-"

"No way, those movies are booooring!" said Lola. The four kids broke out into an argument.

"Okay, okay, how about we do something else?" asked Lulu.

"Like what?" asked Lola, Jake, Aiden and Cam. Lulu was surprised that Cameron had actually been paying attention.

"Um, well, we could play a game or something," Lulu suggested.

"We could play go fish!" said Aiden.

"Okay," said Lulu. "I'll go get the cards."

Three hours and six games later, Aiden, Colin and Lola had fallen asleep and Cam and Jake were well on their way.

"I think it's bed time for you two," Lulu said. Cam and Jake both groaned, and yawned.

"Come on, it's almost eleven," said Dante.

Dante and Lulu had managed to put Lola and Aiden in their sleeping bags without them waking up, and Cameron and Jake had gotten themselves in theirs, too. Lulu took Colin into her bedroom and put him down in his playpen. They both ended up in the kitchen.

"Hey, do you want a beer?" Lulu asked.

"Sure," Dante replied, passing the cards from hand to hand. "You up for another game of cards? Just not go fish this time?"

"Bring it on!" she said. "What game? Poker?"

"Yeah. What are we playing for? Chips or money?" he asked.

"Oh, chips definitely. You're going to be glad, too, when I beat your ass," she said.

"We'll see about that!" he said.

"Ha!" Lulu said an hour later, showing Dante her hand.

Dante groaned and they both stood up at the same time, faces inches away. They could feel each other's hot breath on their faces and they stared at each other for a few moments before Dante pulled her in close and crushed her lips with his. The kiss became increasingly passionate, and Dante picked her up and placed her on the small table, moving his hands down her back as Lulu's hands tangled in his hair. His tongue penetrated her lips and explored the inside of her mouth and she pressed herself up against him.

Their kiss was interrupted by the sound of Colin crying through the baby monitor. Reluctantly they pulled away from each other.

"I'll be right back," said Lulu.

"No, it's fine, I got it," said Dante, walking into Lulu's bedroom. _Oh my God..._ he thought. It was as amazing as he had imagined. He picked up Colin and cradled him against his muscular chest. "Hey, buddy, don't cry. Shhhh," he said. Colin stopped crying at the sound of Dante's soothing voice, but he wasn't ready to fall asleep. A half hour later, Dante wound up on the couch with Colin laying on top of him. Slowly they both drifted off to sleep, and Lulu walked in to see the adorable sight.

"How sweet," she murmured to herself. She went back into her room, changed into pajamas and brushed her teeth. Lulu went back into the living room. From her own experience, she could tell that Colin was fast asleep and wasn't going to be waking up soon.

She picked him up and brought him back into her room, laying him down gently. She went back into the living room and considered waking Dante up, but decided against it.

Walking back into her room to go back to sleep, she couldn't help but fantasize about what an amazing daddy he would make.


	5. Is It Love?

Author's Note: Franco did not work with Crimson.

Read, Review, Enjoy, Blahblahblah. :)))))))

Please vote on the poll on my profile! It applies to all of my stories.

* * *

Chapter 5: Is It Love?

Dante woke up groggily to the sound of a baby crying. _What the hell, I don't have a baby._

Colin squirmed on his chest and Dante opened his eyes to see the baby twisting around on him.

"Oh, where did you come from, little guy?" he asked, sitting up and pulling Colin close. He looked around the room and saw four kids sleeping on the floor of a room that wasn't his.

Suddenly last night all came back to him, the kids, the dinner, the card games... the kiss.

He got up and brought Colin into the kitchen, trying to keep the baby from waking up his brothers and cousin. He looked around and saw the diaper bag sitting on the kitchen table. He pulled out a sippy cup and went to the fridge, taking out the apple juice and filling the cup.

"Here you go, Colin," he said, giving him the juice and setting him down in the high chair.

He heard noise coming from the other room and looked through the doorway, seeing all four kids up and jumping around on the couch.

"Guys, hey, you're gonna wake up your Aunt Lulu," he said.

"Nuh-uh, she's my mama, duh," Lola said continuing to bounce up and down.

"Okay, your mom and aunt," he said.

"MAMA!" Lola yelled, barreling towards Lulu, who had walked in a few seconds ago.

"Hi, baby-" she said before Lulu jumped on her and caused her to fall flat on her butt.

"Oh, sorry, mama," Lola said, kissing Lulu's forehead. "Are you okay? Is your butt okay?"

"Yeah, my butt is okay," she said, taking the hand that Dante had held out. He lifted her off the floor and she came up right in front of him, their lips practically touching.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, his fingers lightly brushing her pajama-clad bottom.

She stiffened slightly at his wonderful touch, goose bumps erupting on her skin. "Yeah," she said. As much as she wanted to stay there and kiss him like no other, she pulled away and picked up Lola.

"I'm really sorry about falling asleep last night."

"Oh, no, it was perfectly fine," she said. "Don't worry about it."

"Hi, princess," she said, snuggling her daughter. "And princes," she said, ruffling Aiden's honey brown curls.

"I'm hungry," Jake complained.

"Jake!" Cam said. "That's rude," he said, pulling out his phone and sending a text.

"You're not one to judge," Lulu said, snatching the phone and placing it on the table.

"Okay, what do you want for breakfast, then?" Lulu asked.

"Kelly's!" Aiden said.

"Yeah!" Jake shouted.

"Yay!" said Lola.

Lulu turned to Dante, "You're welcome to come, if you want."

"Oh, no, I already over stayed my welcome."

"No! Come come come please please please!" Lola begged, pulling on his hand.

"I really couldn't," Dante said, even though he really wanted to.

"Yeah, you could. Go change into new clothes," Lola ordered, pointing to the door.

"Really, it's fine," Lulu said.

"Uh, okay, sure. I'll be right back." In his mind he was thanking God for that wonderful little girl.

"Come on, guys, let's go get changed," Lulu said. "Cam, can you help your brothers get dressed?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he said.

"Come on, Lo," she said. Lulu had always been confused on a nickname for Lola; Lo, or La? La sounded to Spanish, so she decided to call her Lo.

"Mama, I wanna wear a pretty dress!" she said.

"Okay, baby, why don't you pick one out?" Lulu suggested.

"Okie dokie!" she said running over to her closet. "How 'bout this one?" she said, holding up her candy corn dress she had worn for Halloween last year.

"I think that's a Halloween dress," Lulu said.

"But it's gonna be Halloween soon!" Lola said. Actually, it was April.

"Okay, go ahead," Lulu said.

"Can I wear the shoes and hat?" she asked excitedly.

"Sure," Lulu replied. She might as well go all the way.

Lulu pulled the dress over he daughter's head. "Mama, can I acks you something?"

"You can always ask me anything."

"Are you in love with Dante?"

Lulu blinked in shock. "What?"

"I said, do you loooooove Dante?" she repeated.

"Where did you get that idea?" Lulu asked. Three year olds weren't supposed to ask those kinds of questions!

"I was awake last night and I saw you kissin' him in the kitchen!" Lola said.

Lulu's face reddened in embarrassment. "Uh, honey, I think you must have been dreaming."

"Nuh-uh! I really did saw it! So, are you in love with him or not?"

Lulu sighed. "I don't know if I would call it love."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know. But it's something," Lulu said with a smile. She fastened the chin strap on Lola's hat. "There you go."

Little did Lulu know, Dante had come back from his apartment and had heard the whole thing from the living room.

Jake overheard as well, and turned to Dante. "She liiiiiikes you!" he teased.

Dante was speechless. Why could Lulu admit her feelings to a three year old when he couldn't admit them to someone four years older?

"Do you like her, too? I mean, like like her?"

Dante looked towards Lola's bedroom door and decided that Lulu couldn't hear him. But he was wrong. "Yeah. I do."

"Ha! I knew it!" Cam said.

"Don't worry, we won't tell Aunt Lulu!" Aiden said. "It'll be a secret."

Dante shook his head in disbelief. Had he really just said that?

Lulu waited a while before coming back into the family room to make Dante think she hadn't heard.

"Everybody ready to go?" she asked, grabbing her purse from the table.

"Yup! Let's go!" Jake said sprinting towards the door.

When they got to Kelly's Lola sprinted towards the counter and hopped up on one of the stools.

"Mike!" she shouted. Mike lifted her over the counter into a bear hug.

"Hello there, princess!" he said. Mike, Lola and Lulu had become close through Jason, Lola's god father and Sonny, Lulu's god father. The Spencer and Corinthos families had become very close over the years.

"Hi, Mike," Lulu said sitting next to Lola with Colin in her arms.

"Hey, Lulu. And Aiden, and Jake, and Cameron and Dante," he said. "I didn't know you two were acquainted."

"Oh, it turns out we're neighbors," Lulu said.

"What a small world it is. What can I get you guys?"

"Cookie!" Aiden shouted.

"Yay, cookies!" Lola chimed in.

"I think cookies are for after breakfast," Dante said.

"Fine," Lola said. "I want some pancakes!"

"Me, too!" said Jake.

"Me, three!" Aiden agreed.

"Yeah, sure," Cam said, punching the keys on his phone, which he had snuck back into his pocket when he was getting changed. Lulu thought about taking it away from him again but decided against it. She knew there was no keeping him away from his beloved cell phone. She wondered why Maxie and Lucky had even bought it for him in the first place.

"Good for me," Dante said.

"Same here," said Lulu. "And you wouldn't happen to have any cereal for Colin, would you?"

"Sure thing," said Mike.

"Hey, Dante, could you show us how to play stickball later?" Aiden said.

"Yeah, I wanna play, too!" she said.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he said. "If that's okay with you," he said to Lulu.

"Sure," Lulu said. "I'm going to need something to do with them for the next few days, so that's perfect."

After breakfast was over everyone headed over to the park to play before stopping at Dante's apartment to get a ball. At the park, Lulu decided to watch from the bench while the kids and Dante played.

"Aunt Lulu!" she heard, and turned to see Nikki Morgan, Sam and Jason's daughter, running towards her.

"Hi, Nikki!" she said, wrapping her god daughter in a hug. "Hi, Jason," she said, hugging him as well. Lulu and Jason were practically siblings. They had grown up with each other, bonding over their family issues. Jason and Lulu went to each other first whenever they had a new scheme or something went wrong. "Where's Sam?"

"She had to go to work, so I thought I would take Nikki to the park for the day," Jason said. Ever since his daughter was born, Jason had a whole new positive outlook on life.

They heard a shriek from across the feild. "Nikki!" Lola cried, running towards her best friend and 'cousin'.

"Lola!" Nikki screamed. The two three year olds hugged like teenagers. Dante, Cameron, Aiden and Jake had all joined them. Dante and Jason nodded at each other in respect. Jason eyed Jake with a look of longing. He knew he couldn't drag his son into his treacherous life, but he wished he could at least tell the kid that he was his father.

"Mama, can Nikki come over? Please please please please please please please please..." she repeated.

"Please please please please please please please..." Nikki joined in.

"Lola-"

"... please please please please please please please..."

"Lola! Yes, Nikki can come over if it's okay with Uncle Jason."

"YAY!" they both squealed.

Nikki and Lola ran off and started playing hide and seek. The boys joined in soon after. The game had drifted into the woods and Lulu ran over to bring them back.

"Lola! Nikki! Don't go in there!" she hollered. "Can you hold Colin?" she asked Dante, transferring the baby into his arms before running after them.

Jason and Dante were left standing together. After an awkward silence, Jason asked, "So, are you and Lulu... together?"

"Oh, no, I... she's my neighbor."

"So you don't have any interest in her? Because no friend in their right mind would hang around through this train wreck."

"Well... yeah, I guess I like her... but we're not, like together, together," he said.

Jason nodded. "Well, if you break her heart, I'll break your face."

"Good to know," he said. "So, do you have anything on Franco?"

"No, nothing recent. He's been quiet lately."

"I know. It's unnerving. But I think he'll show up soon. I mean, it's Franco, it's not like he's just going to give up."

"Who's Franco?" asked Lulu, who had returned a few seconds ago. She took Colin from Dante and dug through the diaper bag for his bottle.

"Ba ba?" he babbled, reaching out for it.

"So? Who is he?" she asked.

Dante didn't know how to reply; to lie to her so she wouldn't worry, or to tell her the truth so she would have knowledge of the threat he was towards all of Port Charles.

"He's some crazy psychopath serial killer." Apparently it was the latter. "He's an 'artist', he takes poses women to look dead and then kills them. He has this sick obsession with me, thinks that we're, like, the same," Jason said.

Lulu grimaced. "How pleasant," she said sarcastically.

"Exactly. So, don't just go skipping around town with Lola. He's a real threat," Jason said.

"I don't _skip_," she said. "You of all people should know that."

"Still. He's very dangerous. And plus, you and Lola have ties to me, Lucky and Dante." She glanced at Dante when he said that, but decided not to object. "So be careful."

"Always."


	6. Mama's Got the Sickles

Author's Note: If you don't want to hear a totally Lisa-like rant, don't read the rest of this note.

Just thought I'd share a quick bit about something. So me and my BFF watch General Hospital after school (school gets out at 2:45, so we run home.) So we were watching the 10/8 scene when Lulu was talking to Dante and she says, "I hate Lulu, she's so annoying. She's so against her family." And I was like, "Whhhhhaaaaaattttttttt? Oh no you didn't!" Okay, so I didn't really say that but I definitely thought that. And then later I was like, "Lulu is my fave!" and my babysitter (who is only there because of my crraazzzyyy little brother who I can't handle alone!) was like "I like Lulu too!" So then I felt a little better. But now I'm trying to make my stories super duper extra spectacular! At least extra spectacular! Yeah, there's probably not going to be any difference. Sigh. I need a Lante lovin' friend! But they aren't the favorites of my only two friends in my grade who watch General Hospital! Sob! Anyways, if you're still reading this I'm very surprised. Kudos to you.

P.S. Please vote on the poll on my profile.

* * *

Chapter 6: Mama's Got the Sickles

Lulu woke up after a full night's sleep still exhausted. Finally Aiden, Jake, Colin, Cam and Nikki, who had stayed until the others left, had gone home. She felt relieved and pressure free, but there was still a part of her that felt lonely. But she had Lola, and she was all Lulu could ever ask for.

"Mama!" she shouted, running into the room. "Dora's on, come on! You gotsta watch it with me!" she yanked on her mom's hand, trying to pull her out of bed.

"Lola, mommy's not feeling to good today," she said not bothering to get up.

"Oh, no! What's wrong, mama?"

"I think baby Colin got me sick," Lulu said remembering the countless times he had coughed, and sneezed on her.

"Come on, mama, we gotsta get you to the hopspital," she said.

"I don't think I need to go to the hospital, but thank you for offering."

"Don't worry, mama, I'll take care of you!"

"Okay," she said. Lola ran out of the room and came back a minute later with her toy doctor kit.

"Ah-kay, now I'm gonna take your tempahchure."

She stuck the fake thermometer in her mouth and pulled it out, using the handle to pull the red up to the top.

She gasped. "Look! You got a tempahchure! Oh deary me! Now I gotta take your stethoscope!"

"My stethoscope?" Lulu asked.

"Yup! Ah-kay, I gotta hold it right there," she said, placing it on her forehead. "I can hear your heeeeaaaaart!" she sang.

"Do you hear a good heart, doctor?" she asked.

"Oh, no no no. I think I gots my dianostis."

"Okay, what is it?"

"You got the sickles."

"The sickles?"

"Yeah! That's what you get when you're sick. The doctor says you gotta stay in bed until the sickles are all better."

"Okay. But the patient needs to take a shower first," Lulu said, hoping the steam would clear her throat.

"Hmm... okay. The doctor guesses you can do that."

"I'll be finished soon, sweetie. Why don't you go watch some TV until I'm done?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before closing the door to the bathroom.

"Nuh-uh, mama. I gotta go get someone to take care of you!" Lola said, not realizing Lulu couldn't hear her. Lola pulled the stool from the kitchen over to the front door and unlocked it. Running across the hall, she used her tiny fist to knock on Dante's door.

"Lola? Does your mom know you're here alone?" Dante asked when he opened the door.

"Well, kinda."

"I don't think you should be here without her knowing. Come on, I'll take you back over," he said.

"No, no, no. I don't think so." Dante raised his eyebrows. "I need your help."

"With what? Is everything okay?"

"No! Mama's got the sickles!"

"The sickles?"

"Yup," Lola said. "See? She's got a tempahchure," she said, holding up her fake thermometer and pushing the red line back to the top.

"Oh, that looks very bad," Dante said, deciding to play along.

"I know! That's why you gotsta come over and make her feel alllllll better!" Dante could think of a lot of ways to make her feel better. "Come, come, come."

"I don't think I should. I think Doctor Lola is doing a fantastic job."

"Please! For me?" she begged, pulling out the puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, okay. I guess it couldn't hurt," he said, allowing the little girl to pull him across the hall to her apartment.

She led him into her mom's room. Dante's eyes grew wide at the sight of Lulu's lacy bra and thong stacked on her dresser with her other clothes. He could feel a bulge forming between his legs.

"Where is she?" he asked Lola.

"She's in here!" she said, throwing open the bathroom door, where a naked, dripping wet Lulu was standing.

"Dante!" she shrieked, pulling a towel off the rack and covering her body with it.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were..." he trailed off, turning quickly to face the other way. Lulu reached out and grabbed her clothes from the dresser next to the bathroom door before slamming the door shut behind her.

"Whoopsies, I didn't know she was nekkid!" Lola said, her lips forming a small pink 'o'.

"Uh, yeah, I..." he stammered. As hard as he tried, he couldn't get the image of Lulu's heavenly body out of his eyes.

Not that he wanted to.

Her wonderful curves, those luscious breasts... you would never be able to tell she had once been pregnant.

He knocked on the door and said through it, "Uh, Lulu? I'm really sorry about that, I... I didn't open the door, Lola did. Not that I'm blaming her, I mean, um... maybe I should just go."

The door opened and Lulu walked out fully dressed. "Nonsense. It was a simple mistake. Would you like to stay for breakfast?" she asked, trying to put it behind her.

"Oh, I really couldn't. I've interrupted you and Lola's lives enough already."

"Oh, really, it's fine. I- we like having you around," she smiled.

"Breakfast breakfast breakfast! With Dante! Yay!" she shouted, jumping into his arms. "Please? I rrrrreally want you to stay!"

"I would be taking advantage of you guys," he said.

"So bring over a napkin or something," Lulu suggested. "Come on, we both would love for you to stay."

"Uh, okay. I'll go make something. And bring it over. I'll be right back."

"Okay," she said with a warm smile.

"Mama?"

"Yes, baby?"

"I like Dante."

"Me, too, princess."

"I think he likes you, too," Lola said.

Lulu nodded. "I think we could be good friends."

Lola scoffed and rolled her bright eyes. "No, sill! Like, I think he loves you."

"Oh, honey, I don't think so," she said. "What do you know about love?" she asked, but not in a rude or disdainful way.

"I know lotsa things! Like when you think I'm playing with my dolls when you're watching General Hospital, I'm really watchin' it. And I saw the way Dante looked at you and that's what they look like on TV," Lola said.

_Damn,_ she thought. How did her daughter get so smart?

"Plus, I was talkin' to Cam and Jake before they went home and he said that Dante said that he likes you," Lola added.

"He said that?" she asked.

"Yup! And you said you like him, so I think you should fall in love with him and get married. And then I could have a little brother!" she squealed.

"Oh, baby, it doesn't really work that way," she said.

"Why not?" she asked innocently.

"Well," she said pulling her daughter onto her lap. "When you meet someone you... like in a special kind of way, you get to know them first. And if you really like them you see them more often."

"So when do you get married?"

"After a few years, usually."

"And when do I get a baby brother?"

Lulu laughed. "Aren't a bunch of boy cousins enough?"

"No! I want a baby brother!" she pouted. "And Dante should be the daddy."

Lulu was speechless. She tried to reply, but the words wouldn't come.

"Can he be?" she asked excitedly.

"I... maybe. We'll have to see. I haven't even gone on a date with him yet," she said, not meaning for that last part to slip out. _What am I doing?_ she asked herself. This was the type of conversation she usually had with Maxie, and she was having it with her three-year old daughter.

"We shouldn't be having this conversation, Lola. We can talk about this when you're thirteen."

Lola gasped. "But that's in..." she trailed off, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Three, four, five, eight, twelve, nineteen, seventeen, fifteen, eighteen, twenty, twenty one, twelve, eight, thirteen." Her voice went back to it's normal tone. "Fourteen years!"

"Yeah, okay. Don't worry, if me and Dante get married, I'll tell you."

"Good. 'Cause I don't want you getting married without my pamishin!"

She pulled Lulu into her arms. "You're going to make a great mama one day."

"That's 'cause I already have one," she said. There was a knock on the door and Lola ran over and pulled it open, seeing what was in Dante's hands. "French toast!"


	7. Unhandleable

Author's Note: Longer than I intended. Just wanted to remind everyone that Lola's grammatical errors are intentional. Any others are the result of me being too lazy to notice them. :)

* * *

Chapter 7: Un-handle-able

After breakfast Dante and Lulu were sitting on the couch with Lola on Dante's lap watching Sponge Bob. Lulu was glad to see that her daughter had taken a liking to him, so that if things did go any further than a few stolen kisses she would not be upset with her mother. Her phone rang and she noticed it was Carly.

"Hey," she answered, leaving the room for privacy.

"Hi, Lulu, listen, I'm so sorry but Josslyn's school called and they said they need to test her for 'higher education', whatever that means for a five year old girl, but I have to take her and I can't watch Lola today," she rambled from the other end.

Lulu took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Okay. I understand. I'll just find somebody else, see you later."

"Really, Lulu, you can't believe how sorry I am! I know you have an important meeting today and-"

"Carly! It's fine, I can call someone else. Tell Joss I said hi," she said.

"Okay, bye," said Carly.

"Bye," said Lulu, genuinely pissed off that the world hated her so much. This meeting meant everything to Crimson and she had promised Kate she would be there. She didn't blame Carly, but who else was there to blame?

"Who was that, mama?" asked Lola, barely moving her eyes from the yellow sponge on TV.

"That was Aunt Carly, she said she can't stay with you today while I go to my meeting."

"Can I go to Aunt Maxie and Uncle Lucky's house?" she asked.

"Aunt Maxie has to go to the meeting, too, and Uncle Lucky has to go to work. The boys are at school and Colin is at daycare."

Lola pouted. "What about Auntie Sam and Uncle Jason? Or Emma's house?"

"I called them before Aunt Carly, they're both busy," said Lulu.

"Uh, I - I could watch her, if you want. I have the day off," Dante suggested hesitantly. The only time he'd watched a kid was when he was thirteen and had to watch his baby cousin. Plus, his grandma was in the other room.

"Really? I don't want to just dump her on you, she can be a real handful."

"I find that hard to believe, she's such a great kid. It's fine. If I really can't handle her, I can call my ma or something.

"Great, thank you so much. You can stay here if you like, since all of her stuff is here. There's a spare key in the plant in the hallway, and I'll be back around four. Bye, sweetie," she said, grabbing her stacks of work and kissing Lola on the forehead.

"Bye, mama," said Lola.

"Thank you so much," she repeated before leaving.

Lola turned so she had one leg on either side of Dante's body and leaned close. "You're wrong, ya know," she said.

"About what?" he asked.

"I could really be a handful."

* * *

"Dante," Lola sang almost an hour later.

"Yeah?" he asked, already getting tired out from chasing her around the house.

"I wanna eat some pizza! Pep-ah-roni!"

"It's only ten o'clock, I don't think your mom would want you eating that right now," he said.

"But I want it!" she whined.

"How about in a few hours?" he suggested, hoping to God she would agree.

Lola crossed her arms and pulled out an angry pout. After staring him down for a few moments, she turned and stomped loudly into her room and slammed the door shut.

"Lola?" Dante called through the door to her room.

"Just don't talk to me!" she shrieked.

"Lola, come on, it's okay."

"Nuh- uh! I just wanna eat some pizza!"

"Can you please come out?" he asked. "We can play a game."

"No!"

"Lola-"

"Leave me alone!"

"I'll order a pizza."

"Okay," she said, opening the door and skipping past him.

Dante chuckled. "Is that what you always do to get what you want?"

"Yep! Mama says it's very not nice," she said. "But sometimes I do it anyways." She handed him the phone from the end table. "Here's the phone, you can call the pizza store."

He sighed. "Yeah, okay."

"I'm gonna go play with my Polly Pockets, kay?"

After Dante had finished ordering Lola's pepperoni pizza, he walked over to where she was playing and heard her singing a made up song to her tiny dolls. (Author's Note: Got this from my four-year old neighbor (my wonderful adorable inspiration for Lola!) singing to her dollies- too cute! The tune is basically from high to low for each word in each 'section' of each sentence.)

"You have yellow hair, and your name is Lolaaaa, and you have brown hair and your name is Lola alsoooo, and now you have to get married to the prince... I mean, princes. And the wedding is at your castle, and-" she stopped when she noticed him standing there. "What?" she asked, annoyed that he found amusement in her daily activity.

"Nothing, you're just adorable."

Lola beamed. "I know. Did you get the pizza?"

"I ordered it a few minutes ago."

"Well, why isn't it here now?"

"It usually takes a while for it to get here," he said.

"When is it gonna be here?" she asked.

"If it's over thirty minutes I don't have to pay."

Lola glared. "That's not very funny."

He stifled a laugh. "Okay. Do you, uh, like playing with dolls?"

"Yeah! This one's Lola, and this one's-"

"Lola, right?" he said.

"Yep. I named them after me!"

"I never would have guessed," he said.

"Well, it's pretty ov-bius, I think."

There was a knock on the door. "The pizza's here! You could go get it." He obligingly got it for her and brought it back to Lola, who jumped up and down and grabbed it out of his hand. "Yay!" she exclaimed and brought it to the table, tearing a piece out of the pie and chomping down on it.

"I looooove pepperoni pizza," she said with her mouth full.

"I can tell," he said, taking a slice for himself.

"But my mama only likes regular pizza, not pepperoni," she said. After a pause, she added, "I think my daddy liked it, though."

Dante looked up in surprise. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, I gotsta get it from someone. My mama doesn't know that much about him. I wish she did."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked, wishing he could take the obvious pain out of the little girl's heart.

"Well... my mama said that she only knowed him for one day. And that he had a dangerous job. And then she was reading the newspaper when I was in her tummy and she found out that he... he died." He could see that Lola wasn't exactly crying, but she was fairly upset.

"I'm so sorry, Lola," he said hoping he could console the young child.

"It's okay! I think I'm gonna be gettin' a new daddy soon," she said, waggling her eyebrows at him.

Dante felt his heart being torn in half. "What? I - who - who?"

"It's you, silly! My mama, she likes ya, and I knows you likes her too cuz I heared you talking to my cousins. So I telled her that you liked her and she says she likes you too. Just don't tell her I telled you that, cuz she'll get mad at me," she explained.

"She said she likes me?" As soon as he said this he felt like twelve year old he was when Lisa LaFazzio, the girl he had a crush on, had told his cousin Gia, who in turn told him that she liked him.

"Yup! Just one thing. You're not allowed to axe her to get married together with you unless you axe me first. And if you have a baby together it has to be a boy first, and then a girl. Then it could be anything you want," she said with authority.

"I don't know if I can really... you know what, never mind. I'll try to get you what you want."

"Good. Now I want another piece of pizza."

* * *

Dante was trying to catch Lola, who was running around the house laughing holding a handful of Magic Markers with a messy green heart on her cheek and a rudimentarily drawn pair of purple glasses. He was much faster than her, but she could squeeze her tiny body into little places to slip away from him

"Lola, your mom is going to kill me when she sees you like that!"

"You gotsta catch me first!" she screamed.

Dante snatched her up and carried her to the bathroom, pulling a washcloth off the rack and soaking it in water. He put some soap on it and tried to gently scrub her face but she spoke before he could do anything.

"It don't come off for four days. I done it before, and mama was mad at me," she said with a mischievous grin.

"So, why would you do it again?" he asked as Lola squirmed in his arms but failed in escaping.

"I dunno," she said. Dante pumped several more squirts of soap onto the towel and rubbed it on her face again. Before he knew what was happening, he felt a cold line being drawn across his upper lip and looked down to see that Lola was drawing on him.

"Lola, what are you doing?" he exclaimed, looking in the mirror to see a crudely drawn orange mustache on his face. "I thought you said it wouldn't come off for four days!"

"I know," she giggled.

"I have to go to work tomorrow!" he said.

"I'll tell Uncle Lucky not to laugh at you, don't worry," she said. Dante sighed and went back to washing Lola's face, which he learned, after about a half hour, would come to no prevail.

"Can I go now?" she whined when Dante placed the cloth down in defeat. He examined her face, which was pink from all of the scrubbing but was still covered in marker. He hadn't even tried to get it off himself but based on Lola's results, he knew it probably wouldn't work.

"Yeah. But, no more Magic Markers," he said, taking them from Lola who had reluctantly handed them over.

He sat down on the couch, already tired at 12:00. His cell phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen. It was a text from Lulu, whose number he had gotten the morning he woke up with Colin on top of him. It read, _Make sure she naps soon. Hope shes not giving u any trouble. Thanks so much (again). See u at 4. -Lulu._

"Hey, Lola, I think it's time for you to take a nap."

She stopped and looked up from her dolls. "What?"

"Your mom told me to make sure you nap soon," he said, sensing that this was one of the thousands of three year-olds that didn't like taking naps.

"No way! I'm not 'upposed to take naps when I gots a babysitter. Aunt Maxie never makes me does it, even though my mama wants me to."

"Well, I'm not your family, so I'm not going to go against what your mom says. Come on. I'll read you a story," he suggested, hoping she would agree.

"You don't know any good stories," she insisted.

"Sure I do. I had lots of fun when I was a kid," he said.

"Yeah, but I only listen to Mama stories, or Aunt Maxie stories. Or Uncle Jason or Aunt Carly stories. But I don't think I could listen to Dante stories yet."

"What if I read you a story from a book?"

"I hate books!" she yelled. He knew this wasn't true because he remembered seeing dozens of books about princesses, fairies, etc. strewn about the apartment.

"What else can I do to help you take a nap?" he asked bleakly.

"Nothing! Because I'm not gonna take a nap."

"Yes, you are," he said calmly. He knew that she was getting near the point where she _needed_ a nap, otherwise he would be at the wrath of a very irritable kid.

"Nuh-uh!" she yelled back.

"Lola, please. Please, could you just do this for me?"

"No!" she screamed, and he knew that now was the time that she desperately needed a nap.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I don't wanna. I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna! No!" she said, crossing her arms and twisting her angelic face into a furious scowl. "I want a lollipop."

"I'll buy you a hundred lollipops if you take a nap."

"I want one now!"

"Then, you can get one as long as you promise to nap afterwards."

"Mama didn't buy me any and I'm not gonna take a nap!"

"You have to," he said.

"NOOOOOOOO!" she screamed.

"Lola! Go take a nap, now!" he said firmly, hating that he had to use angry words with this adorable child who was apparently having a bad day.

"I'm not gonna take a nap!" she shrieked. She ran over to the table next to the sofa and grabbed the new-looking lamp, smashing it into a billion pieces on the hardwood floor.

Dante had too many curses and awful things to count running through his mind, but he knew he could never use them with her and held them all back. "Come on, I'm going to take you somewhere."

"Are we going to the ice cream store?" she asked innocently. He wondered if three year-olds could be diagnosed as bipolar.

"Not quite, we're going to see someone special."

"Who is it?" she asked curiously.

"My ma," he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the door after grabbing the car seat Lulu had left in case they went out.

"Really? Is she nice? What's her name?"

"Olivia. She's the nicest mom in the world."

"Akshully, I think she's the second nicest mama in the world, 'cause my mama's the nicest."

Dante laughed. "I think it's different for everyone, but okay. She's the second nicest mom in the world."

"Is she pretty?" she asked as he helped her into the car seat.

"Yeah, she's very pretty. That's her," he said, showing her a picture of Olivia on his cellphone.

"No," she said when Dante had walked around to the driver's side and gotten inside.

"No, she's not pretty?" he asked confused.

"I meaned that's not your mama. She looks more like your sister or cousin," she said.

"I know she does, but that's her. I was born when she was fifteen," he explained.

"Woah."

A few minutes later they pulled up at Olivia's apartment building and went up to her room. He watched Lola's eyes wander around and take in the unfamiliar surroundings. He knocked on the door and only had to wait a few seconds before the door was opened by his mother.

"Hi, ma," he said.

"Hi!" Lola piped in.

"Hi there, sweetie..." she looked at Dante in confusion. "Why do you have a marker mustache? Did I miss something?" she asked, praying that this little angel with the marker on her face wasn't her grandchild.

"This little girl lives across the hall from me and her mom needed someone to watch her today, and she got a little creative with her drawing," he said.

"Lola Spencer, pleasure to meetcha," she said sticking out a hand.

"It's nice to meet you, too, sweetheart. Uh, why don't you come inside," she said.

"Ah-kay," she said flouncing into the apartment.

"Not that I'm not already in love with that little girl, but why did you bring her here?" she asked.

"I couldn't get her to take a nap, and since you're such an _amazing_ mother..." he smiled.

"I'll see what I can do," said Olivia. "Go use some rubbing alcohol to get that off your face."

"Lola, do you like stories?" she asked.

She thought for a minute. "I guess I could listen to Olivia stories."

Ten minutes later Lola was asleep on the couch and Dante's orange mustache was gone.

"How did you do that?" he whispered.

"Years of experience. Go into the kitchen while I get the marker off her face," she said quietly, taking the bottle from his hands and grabbing a paper towel from the kitchen. She lightly got the marker off of Lola's face, taking special care not to wake her up or get any in her eyes.

"I've gotta say, ma, you're magic," he said.

* * *

It was almost 1:00 when Lola fell asleep, and it two hours later she was still asleep. He had texted Lulu the address of his mom's apartment and told her they would probably still be there when the she came to pick Lola up.

"So, you said she lives across the hall from you?" asked Olivia.

"Yeah," he responded.

"And she lives with her mom?"

"Yeah," he said, hoping this wasn't going where he thought it was going.

"And this mother, is she single?" Olivia asked.

"Yes, ma. She is."

"Any interest in her?"

"Ma! I don't need you butting into my barely existent 'love life'."

"Come on, baby. You barely call or stop by; I worry about you sometimes!"

"Ma, I'm a busy guy. When I'm not working, I'm sleeping."

"Then shorten your hours and make time for your old ma. And maybe your neighbor."

"Ma!"

"Oh, you can't lie to me. It's okay for you to have a girlfriend, you know. Have you ever actually gone steady with anyone?"

"Okay, this conversation is over."

"No, it's not! You know you can tell me anything, Dante. I devoted too much of my life to you for you to just brush me off. You know I just want you to be happy," she said with love in her eyes.

"I know you do, I just think it's a little invasive for you to ask me if I'm interested in someone," he said.

"Invasive? You think _I'm _invasive? How about when you _invaded_ my teenage years by existing? How about when you _invaded_ my chances of having a boyfriend? Or when you _invaded_ my sleep by crying all night long? When you _invaded _my body and made me all fat for nine months? And you think _I'm _invasive?" she exclaimed.

"All right, all right, sorry!" he said defensively.

"Now, all you have to do is admit that you like this girl and then you can go," she said.

"Yes, I like her. Happy?"

"Have you kissed her yet?"

"That's enough, ma," he said.

"Okay, fine. You should go check on the little angel in the other room," she said.

"Why me? I thought you were the one who - okay, fine." If looks could kill...

He went into the living room to find Lola jumping on the couch and very much awake.

"Lola, you're awake," he said.

"Yeah!" she said, her blond hair bouncing on top of her head as she jumped.

"I don't think you should be jumping on the couch, you could get hurt," he said.

"Fine," she said, hopping down off of the couch and going into the kitchen where Olivia was sitting. "Thanks about reading me a story, Dante's mama. You're really nice."

"You're very welcome, sweetie," she said.

Lola looked around and said, "Can I play with your magnets?" pointing to the fridge.

"Sure, honey," she said. "Just make sure you put them back when you're done."

"Ah-kay," she said, flouncing over to the fridge and sitting down, crossing her legs.

"Look, Dante, they're having a party," she said, gathering together several ABC magnets that Dante vaguely remembered having as a child.

"Oh, yeah? What's the party for?" he asked, bending down to her level.

"It's for 'cause the girl is having a birthday party," she said. "That's the girl, and that's her mama," she said, pointing to the q and the e.

"Wow."

"And you know what they're gonna play with?" she asked. She leaned in closer and whispered, "Nothing!"

"How do they play with nothing?" he asked.

"I - uh - I don't know. They don't have any toys to play with, only nothing," she said,

"Oh, I see."

"Do you wanna come to my birthday party? I'm gonna have it soon," she said.

"Of course," he said smiling. The doorbell rang. "That must be your mom," he said rising to answer it.

"Mama!" Lola shouted, abandoning the letters and running towards the door. When Dante opened it she flung herself onto Lulu who hugged her tightly in return.

"Hi, baby," she said. "Have you been good for Dante?"

"Nope! I made him buy some pizza and I didn't wanna take a nap and then I broke a lamp. On purpose."

She looked at her daughter in shock and disappointment. "I am so sorry," she said to Dante. "I'll pay for the pizza, and for everything she put you through," she said pulling out her wallet and thrusting fifty dollars at him.

"No, really. I enjoyed spending the day with her. Well, I enjoyed most of it," he admitted.

"Well, it sounds like she really put you through a lot, so take it."

"No."

"At least for the pizza," she insisted.

"Fine, but that's it," he said, taking some money.

"I'll make it up to you, I swear," she promised.

"Oh, this is my mom," he said when Olivia walked up behind them.

"Hi, nice to meet you," she said.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, too. You have such a sweet little girl," said Olivia.

"Well, most of the time, but thank you," she said.

"Of course."

"Mama, can we go home now? I wanna watch Go Diego Go," said Lola.

"What do you say to Olivia and Dante?"

"Thank you," she said, hugging Olivia.

"You're welcome, sweetie. Maybe I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Uh-huh."

"I'd better get home, too," said Dante. "Bye, ma."

"Bye, honey. It was nice to meet you, Lulu.

* * *

Back at the apartment building, Dante, Lulu and Lola walked up to their apartment building. They got to Lulu's door and she unlocked it, letting Lola go inside.

She turned to Dante and said, "Thank you so much for putting up with her. I don't know what I'd do if it weren't for you," she said.

"My pleasure," he responded before his lips were captured by hers and she pressed him against the wall. His hands moved down to her bottom and her hands fisted in his hair. His tongue penetrated her lips, teasing her mouth and erecting a feral moan out of her. Reluctantly she pulled back, keeping her lips centimeters from his.

"Wow," she said breathlessly.

"Mm," he grunted in reply.

"I guess I should probably get back to Lola..." she trailed off, falling as she stumbled back towards her apartment.

Dante caught her before she fell and said, "Would you consider going out with me on Friday?"

"No," she said, momentarily enjoying the look of despair on Dante's face. "I won't consider it, I'll agree to it." She kissed him one last time before turning back towards her apartment and closing the door behind her. Dante, grinning like an idiot, went back towards his apartment and went inside, completely happy.

His thoughts were too consumed with thoughts of Lulu to notice the framed piece of paper in the hallway reading _CO77X_.


	8. Celebration

Author's Note: Sorry the beginning sucks, I had serious writer's block so it's very rudimentary (fancy vocabulary!) and kind of forced. : ( And the rest of it is kind of wordy and full of pointless conversations. Probably no updates until next week unless it's on Wednesday, because I am going away for Thanksgiving weekend.

P.S. So psyched to see the new Harry Potter movie!

* * *

Celebration

On Tuesday morning Lola and Lulu sat in the living room, Lola coloring in her unicorn coloring book and Lulu working on her computer. Lola looked up from her artwork and thought for a moment before addressing her mother.

"Mama?" she asked and Lulu looked up.

"Yes, sweetheart?" she asked.

"I told Dante about my birthday party and asked him if he wanted to go," she said.

"Lola, Dante has to go to work sometimes," she said.

"But he said he could go!" she protested.

"Don't you think he might want a break from you after what you put him through last Friday?" she asked.

"No," she said innocently. "Anyways, I cleaned up the light!"

"No, _I_ cleaned up the light," she said. "What I'm saying is, honey, no matter how adorable and amazing you are, sometimes people need a break from you," said Lulu, trying not to offend her daughter.

"But I really want him to come," said Lola. "And he wants to come over so he can play with you." Lulu held back a laugh at how dirty Lola had unintentionally sounded.

"Okay, you can go give him an invitation," she said. She didn't want to make Dante feel like Lola was one of his obligations or pull him into their little family if he didn't want to be a part of it. Before handing Lola the leftover card, she flipped it over and wrote on the back a note on the back.

_I completely understand if you don't want to come- she can really get under people's skin after a while. I'll see you on Friday either way._

She handed it to Lola who opened the door and skipped across the hall, knocking on Dante's door. Lulu made sure to keep her in her peripheral vision, just in case. She still made sure to keep semi-alert after Jason had told her about the freaky artist Franco.

Lola was greeted by a groggy looking Dante, who rubbed his eyes and said, "Hey, Lola, what can I do for you?"

She stuck out the envelope and said, "It's for my birthday party. I want you to come. It's gonna be fun."

"When is it?" he asked.

"Friday. But don't worry, it's at lunch time so you and Mama can go on your date. I heared her talking about it with Aunt Maxie."

"I'll be there," he said with a smile. He already had Fridays off, and no plans, so why not?

"Yay!" she exclaimed. "You can get me Polly Pocket's Airplane Eckscape for a present," she said before running back to her apartment happily.

* * *

"Mama! It's my birthday! I'm four years old!" Lola shouted in her mother's ears, jolting her from her peaceful slumber.

"Oh, I know, sweetie! Happy birthday, princess," she said pulling her onto her lap and squeezing her tightly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, mama. Can I have my present now?" she asked.

"Mm, I think we should wait until your party so all of your friends and family can see," Lulu said.

Lola sighed loudly. "O_kay_."

"But your first present can be ice cream for breakfast," she said.

"Yay!" she exclaimed. "I want chocolate. I mean, vanilla."

"You can have both," she said.

"I love my birthday!" she said.

After Lola had had about a dozen scoops of both chocolate and vanilla, which Lulu would never have allowed if not for the fact that it was a very special day, she was bouncing off the walls from excitement and a massive sugar high.

"Lola, will you please help me set up?" she asked as Lola jumped back and forth from the love seat to the sofa. "And don't do that, you might hurt yourself."

She giggled and ran over to Lulu, snatching the streamer she was holding and dancing with it like it was a ribbon. "Look, mama, I'm a dancer lady with a ribbon like the ones at the circus!"

"Lola Lu Spencer, please stop that! Can you get some paper plates from the cabinet?" she asked, trying to think of the action that was least likely to go wrong in the hands of her daughter.

"Okay," she said, wrapping the streamer around her head and running off to the kitchen. "Dora, Dora, Dora, the Explorer!" she sang.

Lulu rubbed her temples and climbed back on top of the chair, taping streamers to the ceiling. They were all pink, of course; a result of Lola's persistent demanding at the party store. She had tried to persuade her to choose other colors for the sake of her male guests, but there was no arguing with that little girl.

She stepped down and examined her work proudly. It was cheesy as hell: balloons, streamers, and party games galore, but whenever Lola saw a birthday party like this on TV or attended one herself she always said it was exactly what she wanted. Lola came back holding about a hundred paper plates with multi-colored balloons on them.

"How many people do you think are coming today?" she asked.

"Uh, I dunno, a hundred?" she suggested.

"Try twenty-five," she said. "But thank you for getting these for me."

"What time are they gonna be here?" asked Lola.

"Soon," she said. "But first, you need a birthday hug," she said and Lola came running to her open arms. "I love you so much. So, so much."

She giggled. "I love you so much too, mama."

"You are the best thing that ever happened to me, do you know that?"

"Even if you don't have my daddy to help you?" she asked quietly.

"Of course, Lola. I know he would love to be here today. I'm sorry you don't get a daddy in your life," she said, rubbing her thumb across Lola's cheek.

"It's okay. 'Cause maybe one day I'll have a new daddy."

Lulu didn't bother protesting or changing the subject. "That's right. But today's your special day, baby, and today you're - we're only gonna be happy."

"Ah-kay." The doorbell rang and she exclaimed, "Somebody's here mama! I wonder what my present's gonna be!"

"Lola, what's important is that they're here, not what they-"

"Uncle Lucky and Aunt Maxie!" she exclaimed. "And Aiden and Jake and Colin and Cam!"

"Hi, sweetie!" said Maxie, hugging her niece.

"Happy birthday!" said Aiden and Jake handed her three presents that were almost as tall as her.

"Wow, you got me a _lot_ of presents!" she said.

"Lola," Lulu said, reminding her to be polite.

"Thank you," she said, running into the living room and placing them on the coffee table. "Let's play some games!" she said, ushering her three older cousins into the other room.

"When do we get cake?" asked Jake, but his question was ignored and the kids played Pin the Tail on the Donkey while Lucky looked on. Maxie dragged Lulu into the kitchen.

"Is he coming?" she asked, making sure the kids and Lucky couldn't hear.

"Who's he?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with me! HE!"

"Yes," she admitted quietly.

"Ha! I knew it!"

"And... I'm going on a date with him after," she said.

"I am so disappointed in you. What happened to playing hard to get?"

"I was never playing hard to get. And I really like him and he likes me and that's all there is to it."

"That's so sweet!" she said. "But I'm your maid of honor."

Lulu sighed and went back into the room where Lola and everyone else was. Sam, Jason, Nikki, Robin, Patrick and Emma were there as well; Lulu assumed Lucky had let them in. She knew there was tension between Jason and her brother, but they always put up with it for the sake of Lola and herself. After a few minutes of talking to Sam and Robin about how fast their babies were growing up, the door rang and Lola answered it.

"Hi, Dante!" she looked at the large present in his hands covered in sparkly pink paper that Lulu was sure he hadn't owned before he bought Lola's present. "Is that Polly Pocket's Airplane Eckscape?" she asked.

"You bet it is. Happy birthday, Lola."

"Thanks! Guess what? We gots a piñata!"

"Wow. This is one fancy party if you've got a piñata."

"Yup, it is! Come on, you could come play Pin the Tail on the Horsie with me and my friends!"

"Sure," he said. He saw Lulu inside and quietly said, "Hi," with a small smile.

"Hey," she said with a slightly flirtatious smile. "Thanks for coming. Lola really appreciates it," she said, remembering the crowd she had. Maxie lightly elbowed her discreetly in the ribs, and she scowled and elbowed her back. While the kids were playing games, the adults sat around the couch and talked over 'grape juice', as far as the kids were concerned.

"Pretty classic party," Dante said.

"No kidding," Lucky said.

"Listen, what Lola wants, Lola gets. And she's four, give her a break," Lulu said.

"So, no clown?" he asked.

"Hell, no."

"She's afraid," Lucky said.

"Lola's afraid of clowns? I find that hard to believe," he said.

"Oh, not just Lola," Lucky said mischievously as Lulu glared daggers at him.

"You're afraid of clowns?" Dante asked in disbelief.

"Shut up," she murmured, her face turning red.

"That's... honestly, it's kind of funny. Jason Morgan's best friend, Luke Spencer's daughter, Sonny Corinthos' goddaughter, afraid of a harmless clown?"

"They're annoying and immature," she said, defending herself and giving Lucky a look that said, _I will so get you back for this_.

"And scary," her brother teased.

"Who wants to hit the piñata?" she asked and was answered with a chorus of 'Me!'s from the kids. Lulu ushered the kids over to the space she had cleared out for the piñata. She handed them a short stick and a bag for the candy but no blindfold, because no way in hell was she going to let a bunch of little kids run around her house with a stick blindfolded. The adults gathered around, including several of their family and friends who had arrived in the past hour.

"Who wants to go first?" she asked, and Nikki stepped forward, jumping up to grab the stick. Almost a half hour later Cameron was able to burst open the Dora piñata and candy spilled out on the floor, a simultaneous sigh of relief erupting from the adults. There must have been 20 pounds of candy in that thing, because everyone had filled their bags up to the brim.

When the kids had gathered up all of their candy and began climbing the hill towards a massive sugar high, the adults and 16 year-old Morgan were in the kitchen. Lucky and Dante talked in the corner, and Lulu talked with Sam, Maxie and Robin nearby.

"Can I ask you something?" Lucky asked.

"Uh, it depends?" he said. He knew his work partner pretty well, but wasn't sure what he had up his sleeve.

"What are your intentions with my sister?"

"Excuse me?"

"I said, what are your intentions with my sister?"

"I heard you, I just - I don't know where you go that from. There's nothing going on between us," he said a little too fast.

"Yeah, sure. Do you think I don't talk to my sons and my nosy little niece? I know what's happening between you and Lulu, and I want to know what you're intending to do with her."

"Do I really have to have this conversation with you?" he asked desperately.

"Yes. I'd say we're close enough to being friends, Dante, and you are a cop, so I'm pretty sure I can trust you. But I know your family history, and if you hurt her at all, physically or emotionally, you'll never wake up again, except for maybe in the bottom of the ocean."

Dante nodded grimly. "Gotcha. But I just want to make this clear, I'm not even sure what's going on with us. And anything that is, it's because of Lola."

"Everything that happens in Port Charles is because of Lola. She's kind of a main contributing factor to fate," Lucky said.

Lulu heard the doorbell ring. "It must be the cake guy," she said to Maxie, Sam and Robin.

"Hi, I'll take that for you," she said, reaching out for the huge cake sitting on an aluminum platter.

"Oh, no, I'll bring it in for you. It is my job, after all," the man said. Lulu thought he was kind of creepy, especially the way he looked inside her apartment, like he was searching for something.

"Um, okay, just bring it in here," she said, leading him into the kitchen. "Thank you," she said, pulling out the payment. (Author's Note: Yeah, cakes aren't usually delivered, too bad.)

"Have a nice party," he said, eyeing Lola with curiosity. "You have quite a beautiful daughter there."

"Uh, thank you..." she said nervously, willing the man to get out of her apartment. She would have to tell Keke about his strange behavior.

He nodded his head and walked towards the door, leaving and closing it behind him, but not before slipping an envelope onto the pile of presents by the door. It went unnoticed by all the party guests.

"Cake!" Lola exclaimed when she saw it sitting on the kitchen table. "Can we eat it now?" she asked, reaching out and sticking her finger in one of the frosting flowers on the edges.

"Hey," Lulu said, guiding Lola's hand away from the cake. "You can't eat until we sing Happy Birthday," she said, pulling out a candle in the shape of a four and lighting it.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Lola, happy birthday to you!" the twenty-five people in the room sang in unison while Lola sat with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"And many mooooore," sang Morgan and Spencer.

Lola laughed in happiness. Her laugh was the kind you saw on those commercials for pink bicycles with tassels on the handlebars, the kind that would make you smile just by hearing it. Lulu took out knife and sliced through the corner of the cake and put it on a platter for Lola.

"The birthday girl gets to eat first," she said while cutting more slices for everyone else. Lola plunged her fork into the vanilla cake, stuffing a huge chunk into her mouth.

"Ifff umby!" she said through her food. She swallowed and smiled, but her smile instantly faded and she coughed. She placed her hands over her heart and everyone stepped closer in concern. "Mama, my chest hurts..." she murmured, coughing again before her face turned pale as a sheet and she collapsed on the ground.


	9. Love in Times of Trouble

Author's Note: So sorry for the long wait!

* * *

Love in Times of Trouble

"Mama, my chest hurts..." Lola murmured, coughing again before her face turned pale as a sheet and she collapsed on the ground.

In an instant everything and everyone was in motion. The adults all crowded around the suddenly unconscious little girl and the other kids were shuffled back behind everyone else. They watched on as a dozen pairs of hands touched Lola, trying to somehow revive her. Patrick and Robin ended up being at the center as everyone else anxiously looked on. Lucky had 9-1-1 on the phone and tried to explain what had happened, but it was hard to describe something no one understood. Lulu stood closest to her daughter, leaning over the doctors with her hand over her mouth and tears running down her face.

"Is she breathing?" Lulu asked quietly, directed to Robin and Patrick. When they didn't respond, she shouted, "Damn it, Robin,_ is she breathing_?"

Robin looked up startled, her hands stopping above Lola's tiny chest. "Yes. Yes, but I don't know what happened. I'm sorry, I just-"

"Just do something! I don't care what it its! Just - just fix her!" she cried, feeling helpless. Robin wasn't offended, she knew what it was like to see her daughter damaged and weak. Lucky, who was standing closest to Lulu, enveloped his sister in a tight hug. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Lola's face; it was scarily pale and she was frowning slightly even though she was unconscious.

After what seemed like hours, the paramedics arrived and took over from Robin and Patrick. They strapped Lola's small form into the stretcher, even though it probably would have been easier to simply pick her up and carry her out. Lulu followed them out of the room, pulling Maxie with her. The other paramedics were talking to Robin and Patrick, asking what they had observed earlier. Everyone else left hurriedly and got in their cars so they could meet up with everyone at the hospital. Dante stood in the hallway for a few seconds, unsure on whether or not he would be intruding or unwanted at the hospital.

Lucky nudged him on the arm and asked, "Are you coming?"

"I think I'd be out of place, I don't want to be in the way of anything," he said.

"Come on, you were at the party. Lulu would probably slap the crap you if you didn't come," he said. "You can come in my car. I might crash it if someone doesn't keep me from worrying too much."

"Yeah, okay." He couldn't help but notice how completely freaked out his friend looked at the moment.

They got into the car and Lucky drove well over the speed limit.

"Talk to me so I don't end up worry too much about Lola and end up crashing this car into a tree. But not about Lola."

"Uh... what do you think of the Mattaliano case?" he asked, thinking of the file that had sat on his desk for weeks.

Lucky chuckled. "Mattaliano's gonna get his ass thrown in jail for a long time."

"And what about his hit-man, Williams?"

"Ah, I don't think he's ever worked with him. Kind of a wrong place, wrong time, wrong guy threatening to kill you if you don't go along with it kind of thing."

"Mm. Any news on Franco lately?"

"No, not a thing. That's what's been getting me anxious lately, he's bound to make a move soon," Lucky replied as the got out of the car.

"You... you think it could have been that put the stuff in the cake? I mean, it would have been a surefire way to get to Jason, you and me, not to mention everyone else in this goddamn town."

Lucky squeezed his eyes shut as they walked through the sliding doors. "I sure as hell hope it wasn't him, because that psycho is one of the most dangerous freaks I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with. But yeah, I suppose it could have been him."

"Were any guys sent over to the apartment?"

"Yeah. But if it was Franco it shouldn't be too hard to find out. He loves putting his name all over his proudest achievements."

"Do you really think he would stoop so low to poison a four year-old just to get to us?" Dante asked.

"Of course. He kidnapped my newborn son, Dante. You can't stoop any lower than that," Lucky said as they approached the nurse's station in the ER. Epiphany looked up at them and pointed over to the waiting room chairs where several people had gathered. He noticed there were no kids, vaguely remembering that Maxie had offered to take them all even though she wanted to be there to support Lola and Lulu.

Dante's eyes locked on Lulu, who was sitting with Ethan, Maya, Nikolas, Jason and Sam. Her eyes were bright red and tears ran down her face, staring off into space. She seemed distant, like she had shut off from the world as a result of her shock and fear. He looked around and noticed the other people sitting there had tears in their eyes - well, not Jason, but he was definitely upset. Turning to Lucky, he noticed that his eyes were becoming misty as well. Dante again felt out of place, like he was intruding on an important family moment - sort of like being invited to the funeral of someone you didn't know.

But he damn sure hoped this wasn't a funeral.

He followed Lucky over to the group and sat down in one of the uncomfortable straight-backed chairs. It was eerily silent for what seemed like forever, more and more people gathering in the hospital. Soon enough Robin, who had immediately sprung into action as soon as she and Patrick had arrived, emerged from the room with a clipboard, causing everyone to straighten up in anticipation.

Robin took a deep breath before continuing. "She's going to be all right," she said, causing everyone to sigh or shout in relief. "We found a decent amount of cyanide in her system, almost enough to kill her within minutes." Dante noticed Lulu flinch at the word _kill_. "Luckily we were able to detect it quickly and administer an antidote, and she should be fine as long as she's kept on the drugs for a while longer." (Author's Note: I know pretty much nothing about cyanide, so forgive me for any mistakes I have made with it.)

Lulu leapt from her seat and pulled Robin into a hug, which Robin gladly returned to her friend. "Can I see her?" she asked.

"Sure, but she's still sleeping. We had to sedate her; she was going through a lot of pain." At the word pain Lulu spun quickly on her heel and bolted into the room, rushing over to her sleeping little girl and grasping her hand. "Someone else can go with her," Robin said. Everyone unanimously agreed that Jason should go, and the blue-eyed man followed his best friend into the hospital room.

Lulu was showering Lola's unconscious face in kisses and running he hands over it, crying in happiness, relief and terror. "I'm so sorry, baby, I love you," she repeated softly. Jason came up behind her and wrapped a large arm around her shoulders. It pained her to see her daughter's face so pale and helpless, and she couldn't bare to look at the IV needles that had been stuck into her tiny wrist. She was sure she noticed a single tear slip down Jason's face, although he would never admit it. He had become softer with the birth of Nikki, but not that soft.

Jason wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a proper hug. She buried her face in his shoulder and they stood there until she finally broke away and turned to face Lola again.

"I'm sorry, Lu," Jason said softly. "She doesn't deserve to go through this, and neither do you."

"Yeah," Lulu replied, not tearing her eyes away from Lola. "I know."

Jason smiled sadly before saying, "I'm going to let someone else come in. I'm sure they're all dying for their turn." He kissed her forehead the way her brothers would have and left the room.

Lucky was next; he cried and laughed and thanked the world along with his sister. He held his nieces hand and spoke to her through her sleep. He spent a good half hour in the dreary white room before informing her that he had to get back to Maxie and the boys to tell them that Lola was alright.

Following Lucky were Ethan and Maya, Tracy, Nikolas, Spencer Michael and Morgan, Sam, Robin and Patrick, Carly and Jax, Maxie, and finally Dante. He had saved himself for last out of respect for Lulu and her family. He wasn't sure he should have gone at all, but then again they had shared more than a few kisses over the past few weeks and he was still worried about Lola.

"Hey," he greeted Lulu when he walked in.

"Hi," she said back. "I thought you left a while ago."

"Nah, just saving the best for last," he joked. "In all seriousness, I wanted to wait for everyone else to go in before me. I guess I felt out of place, being surrounded by all of your family. They needed to see her more than I did."

"That was very nice of you," Lulu said. "But you really didn't have to. You are welcome here, wether you know it or not."

"Thanks," he said, hesitating before kissing her softly on the lips, earning a smile in return. "Is she..." he trailed off.

"Okay?" Lulu finished. "Yeah. I guess so. I think so. I hope so."

"I'm sorry both of you had to go through this."

"It wasn't your fault. Whoever did this... they aren't worthy of prison."

"Mmm," Dante replied. Lulu could immediately tell he knew something that she didn't.

"What? Do you know who it was? Goddamn it, Dante, who the hell did this to her?" she asked with anger in her voice.

"The PCPD went over there and investigated. They found something on the cake, a signature. It was that guy Jason told you about, Franco," he said.

Lulu surged with anger. After a pause she said, "It's my fault. He warned me about him, dammit, and I didn't do anything! He kidnapped my nephew! I should have known... I should have..."

"You can't blame yourself for this. You couldn't have known, Lulu, none of us did. The only thing we can do is catch the son of a bitch and get him locked up forever."

He noticed there were tears rolling down her cheeks. "Hey, don't cry," he said.

"How can I not cry? How? She almost died, Dante, four years old. It was this close," she held her fingers a centimeter apart. "This close! She's not supposed to be so close to death, she's not supposed to be poisoned by some crazy person, she's not supposed to be lying in this stupid hospital bed unconscious!" she cried. "It's not supposed to be this way."

"I know it isn't. Trust me-"

"Trust you? How can I trust you to know how it feels to have your baby almost die, for her to be so helpless and - and - and dying! She was dying! It's not fair!" she wailed.

Dante pulled her into his arms, having no words left to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," she said after a while, still cradled in his arms. "I shouldn't have freaked out on you like that. You were just trying to help."

"Don't be sorry," he said soothingly.

"Dante?"

"Yeah?"

"I think we're going to have to postpone our date."

"Yeah, I think we will," he said with a slight chuckle. "Next Friday. Unless that's too soon," he said.

"Next Friday should be fine. She'll probably have half the town guarding her door."

He smiled as they both began to drift off into sleep. She thought back to all of the kisses they had shared, the kindness he had treated her with and how he had been so loving towards Lola, how wonderful he had been in general.

"Dante?" she said again.

"Hmm?" he replied sleepily.

"I think... I think I love you."

"I think I love you, too," he said back.

And no matter how wrong things were, everything was right.

* * *

A/N: Anyone want some crackers to go with that cheese? :D


	10. Worse Always Comes Before Better

A/N: You guys are FANTABULOUS! Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews and remember- the more the merrier! Reviews are very much appreciated, as always. Remember, I don't know much about cyanide, so forgive me if I'm way off.

Happy Holidays to everyone, I probably won't be updating for a while. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

* * *

Worse Always Comes Before Better

Lulu sat in the chair, her body numb and her mind blank. She heard and saw everyone swirl around her, people trying to talk to her but she shrugged them off and continued to stare at the wall.

It felt like someone had taken a knife and stabbed her repeatedly straight through her heart, but instead of dying she was left to suffer through the pain. But somehow this pain was worse than any knife could cause.

She was so pale, so helpless, so lifeless, so young.

Too young.

She knew something had gone wrong in the world, someone had decided to turn their wrath onto her and her daughter. Because no one deserved this, especially not an innocent little girl who couldn't hurt a fly.

There were tear tracks down her face, but her eyes were dry as the Sahara because she had run out of tears long ago. Someone was hugging her, talking to her, probably trying to reassure and comfort her, but she couldn't hear them. The only thing she could hear was that long, loud beep from last night. It had ended long ago, but it had never faded in her mind.

It was like a dream, she was watching it and hearing it, feeling it, but she wasn't really there, and she had a feeling that she would never be back. She wanted it to be a dream, she wanted it so bad, hoping that she would wake up and realize that her living nightmare really was just an nightmare.

But it wasn't because she had pinched her self so many times that there was a bruise on her arm, but it couldn't compare to the pain she felt in her heart.

Everyone said it wasn't her fault, that she couldn't have done anything, but she knew that it was her fault. Her baby didn't deserve this, but someone had to deserve it, so maybe it was her. Maybe it was a cruel twist of fate that had taken itself out on Lola instead of Lulu.

She saw everyone she had ever loved around her, but not the little girl she loved more than anyone else. No, she was lying on a hospital bed with doctors poking and prodding her, when she should be sitting on her mother's lap, begging for a third scoop of ice cream and just one more squirt of whipped cream.

These people were searching for her, trying to bring Lulu back to life, trying to get the real Lulu back.

But the real Lulu would never be back.

The real Lulu was dead.

And so was her daughter.

And there was that insistent beep, long, loud and annoying, informing her that Lola would never be back, that she would never hug her mother ever again.

_Beep._

But now it was getting shorter, and the beep was repeating over and over, succeeding in becoming even worse than before.

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

It was getting even louder now, pounding so loud she was sure her head would burst.

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep._

Faster and louder, worse than ever, reminding her that the very meaning for her existence was gone, telling her that she had no reason to live and she should just kill herself now and make things easier on everyone.

_Beep._

And maybe she would.

_Beep._

And everything was gone.

_Beep._

And everything was dead.

_Beep._

And it was dark, so, so dark.

She opened her eyes, squinting at the brightness, to let some light into her dark world.

But Lola was the light of her life, the little girl lying before her as she sat in Dante's arms was gone.

And then she realized - Lola was in front of her, her chest rising and falling with each little breath.

It really _was_ just a nightmare.

Just a dream, a horrible dream, a horrible, terrible, horrible dream that wasn't real. And Lola was alive.

She let out a small cry of relief, unintentionally waking Dante.

"Mmph - what's wrong?" he mumbled groggily. He noticed the tears on Lulu's face and instantly leaned forward to see if something had happened to Lola before Lulu flung her arms around his neck unexpectedly. "What happened?" he asked, hugging her back.

"She's okay..." Lulu whispered. "Oh, God, I thought she was dead..."

"Care to explain?" he asked tentatively, trying not to push her fragile mind frame over the edge.

"I had a dream," she began, releasing Dante and leaning back. "Lola was dead and it was horrible, I - I was so scared, I wanted to die."

"Shh, it's okay," he soothed. "It was just a dream, she's fine."

"I know. I'm sorry, I feel so stupid."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, here I am sobbing about some stupid dream I had and-"

"Stop it, Lulu. You have every right to be crying, you just went through a traumatic experience and thought that your daughter was dead. You're taking this better than most people would."

"Thanks," she said quietly with a small smile. "Thanks for everything, staying here, and supporting me. I don't know what I would do if I was all alone."

"Of course, sweetheart." Both of their eyes jerked over to Lola as her arm moved from her side to her stomach and her face twitched slightly.

"Lola?" Lulu said, taking her daughter's hand. "Can you hear me, darling?" Lola whimpered and shifted a bit at the sound of her mother's voice. "Come on, baby, you gotta wake up," she urged.

Suddenly Lola's face contorted in pain and her body began to shake slightly. Lulu held her hand tighter and placed another hand on her daughter's face, speaking to her frantically. "Lola, Lola! Please wake up, please, please! I need you to wake up, it's okay, you're okay..." she trailed off when Lola's body began to jerk violently. Lulu screamed loudly, realizing what was happening. Dante began shouting for help, repeatedly slamming on the help button by Lola's head. Lulu turned Lola to her side and pulled back, afraid that she would cause harm to her daughter.

Robin and two nurses burst through the door moments later and examined the shaking child. Dante guided a frantic Lulu away from the hospital bed, wrapping his arms around her in a half-restraint, half-embrace, hoping to ease some of her obvious pain. She panted and squirmed before sinking back into Dante in defeat as she watched. After a few minutes, or maybe they were hours, Robin and the nurses stepped back from the still figure on the bed and turned to Dante and Lulu.

"She'll be okay," she began. "The seizure was an effect of the cyanide, which apparently isn't been completely completely out of her system yet. We'll give her a stronger dose of medication and I don't think it'll happen again." She moved forward and hugged her friend, who immediately returned the gesture. The two women broke apart and Robin stepped back. "You two should get some more sleep. I managed to get rid of the visiting hours rule, but I'm not sure how long it'll be until Epiphany has enough and kicks you guys out. I'll be back soon with the medications," she finished with a small smile.

Lulu walked slowly over to Lola, taking her small hand in hers and rubbing it reassuringly. She tried to steady her breathing as Dante walked up behind her, placing his hands on the back of her chair. She wiped the traces of sweat of her daughter's forehead that had formed from the physical trauma of the seizure and traced her thumb down her delicate jaw line.

"I really thought she was going to wake up," she said to Dante without turning to face him. "I thought that was gonna be the moment I'd been waiting for all night, but it turned out to be even worse than it was before. But I guess things always get worse before they get better."

"Exactly. Things will only get better from here," Dante said, hoping his words were true.

She nodded thoughtfully. "Don't you ever scare me like that again," she said to a still unconscious Lola. She leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

She turned to Dante and said, "Thank you for staying with me tonight, it means a lot to me. But you probably want to go home now, so-"

"No, if it's alright with you, I think I'll stay."

"Of course you can stay, but I don't think you want to be sitting in this hospital room all night."

"I would sit in a hospital room for a month for you two," he said with a smile.

"Very poetic," she said, leaning in to kiss him on the lips. Dante sat down on the chair and pulled her onto his lap, holding her close.


	11. Better Always Comes After Worse

Better Always Comes After Worse

"The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out! Out came the sun and dried up all the rain..."

Dante could hear soft singing in the background of the beeping of machines, but he couldn't understand where it was coming from. He turned his head to the side and squeezed his eyes shut tighter, begging for sleep to take him again. He felt Lulu shift in his arms and pulled him tighter against him and tried to clear all thoughts from his mind, but he couldn't rid the singing from his ears.

"... and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again!"

His eyes flung open, ready to deliver a knuckle sandwich to the person who was interrupting his sleep. He searched the room before his eyes stopped on the little girl on the bed, who was continuing to hum the tune and playing with one of the tubes that disappeared under her tiny hospital gown. He jerked forward, rousing Lulu from her sleep and nudged her gently to get her attention.

Lola's eyes landed on him when she heard the sound of his movement and she said, "You waked up!"

"Lola?" her mother exclaimed before she reached forward and wrapped her tightly in her arms. "Oh, baby, I was so scared... I'm so glad you woke up," she murmured.

"Me, too. I missed you, mama. It was dark. I was scared," she said.

"I love you so much, so, so much," Lulu said, tears of joy running down her face as she clung tightly to her daughter.

"I love you so much too, mama," she said, not realizing how much it meant that she had woken up.

"I'll give you two a minute," Dante murmured, edging towards the door.

"No! You should stay here," Lola said, reaching her hand out to him. He walked back over to them and took it in his.

"You gave us all quite a scare, sweetie," he said.

"Oh. Sorry," she said.

"Don't you dare be sorry. You - don't -" Lulu stammered. "This wasn't your fault. Not one bit. I'm so sorry this happened, you didn't deserve this, baby. I'm so sorry," Lulu said, leaning back into the chair but leaning forward so she could be as close as possible to her daughter.

Lola was silent for a few moments. "What happened? Why did I go to sleep, mama?"

"There was... you... the..." she trailed off, tears brimming in her eyes. She looked to Dante for help, unable to explain.

"There was something in your cake," he began slowly. "Something bad. Something that made you get sick and go to sleep for awhile."

"Is it still in my belly?"

"No, the doctors got rid of it. You're gonna be okay," he said with a reassuring smile.

"How did it get there? Did Keke put it in?" she asked, referring to the owner of the bakery that Lulu was friendly with.

"Keke didn't put it in," Lulu said. "A... a mean man put it in there. But we're gonna make sure he doesn't hurt you again. Okay?"

"Okay," Lola said. "I don't like these," she said, fingering one of the tubes that was connected to her body. "Can I take it out?"

"No, sweetheart. Those put medicine in your body, medicine that's helping you get better," Lulu said.

"Why can't I drink it? Is it icky grape flavor?" Lola said, making a disgusted face.

Lulu and Dante chuckled. "No, honey, it's not the kind of medicine you drink. It won't be like this for much longer, soon we'll be able to go home, okay?" she said.

"Yeah. When we get home, can I open my presents?" she asked.

"Yes, of course," Lulu said. "Maybe we can bring them here."

"Really? Yay!" she exclaimed. "Is Uncle Jason here?"

"No, everyone had to go home last night, but I'll go get Robin and then call everyone and tell them you woke up." Lulu left the room, leaving Dante and Lola alone in the hospital room.

After a brief, slightly awkward pause, Lola asked, "Why did you stay?"

"I'm sorry, do you want me to leave?" he asked, hoping she wasn't upset by him being there.

"Nuh-uh, I just wanted to know why you stayed when everyone else leaved for home."

"Well, I was very worried about you."

"No, that's not why! Everybody else was worried about me but they left and you're still here," Lola pointed out.

"I... I stayed to support your mom. She was really upset, you know, and she's really glad that you're okay," he said.

Lola sighed and gave him a look that said, Do you really expect me to believe that?. "Could you just say the real reason?"

He smiled, wondering how that sweet little girl could be so damn smart. "Why do you think I'm here?"

"Hmm... I think you're here because you're my mama's boyfriend and she needed you to make her feel happy again."

"That pretty much sums it up," he said chuckling.

"Are you getting married?"

"No, we are most definitely not getting married. Not for a while, at least."

"Are you having a baby? A little brother for me?"

"No, it's a bit too early for that."

She sighed loudly. "Well, could ya hurry up? I want a baby brother to play with."

Finally, Lulu walked in with Robin following closely behind her.

"Hi there sweetie, how are you feeling?" Robin asked.

Lola shrugged. "Okay. My head is a little spinny though."

"That's because of the medicine, but you won't need it for much longer," said Robin as she scribbled something on her clipboard. She ran a few more tests, checking everything from blood pressure to hearing, before giving Lola a small hug and leaving.

"I should call everyone and tell them you're awake," Lulu said, pulling out her cell phone and turning towards the door even though leaving was the last thing she wanted to do.

Lola whimpered and reached out her hand, saying "Mama, I want you to stay!"

"I'll be right back, honey, and don't you want everyone to come see you?"

"Please stay mama!" She cried as tears started to form in her eyes. Lulu crossed the room back to Lola's bedside and took her hand while Dante looked on, yet again feeling like an intruder.

"I'm just going into the hallway, I'll be right back," she said, trying to reassure her emotional daughter.

"I don't want you to leave," she said miserably.

"I'm not going to leave you, baby, I never will. I'm just going to go outside for a minute and call Uncle Lucky, then I'll be right back."

"No! Stay!" she insisted, a tear running down her face.

She sighed and said, "Okay, fine. I'll stay." She got up and asked Dante, "Would you please call Lucky, tell him that Lola woke up and to tell everyone else?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, taking the phone from her hand.

"I think someone's tired," she whispered before squeezing his hand and going back to Lola.

Soon enough the room was filled with people. Epiphany had protested strongly but when Lola had begged her to let them all in, she just couldn't say no. There were a dozen 'Welcome back's, 'We missed you's, and 'We love you's. After an hour of visitors, Lola's eyes were halfway closed and she was yawning every two minutes.

Everyone seemed to get the hint and slowly filed out of the room, leaving just Lulu, Dante - who had tried to leave, just to be polite, several times to no avail - and Lucky. Lucky and Dante talked quietly in the corner about their plan to get Franco while Lola entertained Lulu from her bed with stories about her adventures with her Barbies. There was a knock on the door and Jason came in, holding a large stack of wrapped boxes which he placed on the bed.

"Yay, presents!" Lola exclaimed, leaping for the pile. Lulu gently pulled her back so she wouldn't yank out her IV cords and handed her the box on the top of the pile. Lola tore away at the paper, revealing the American Girl Doll that looked exactly like her from Maxie and Lucky. She squealed and threw her arms out which Lucky returned with a hug. "Thanks Uncle Lucky!" She tore open several more presents, getting especially excited when she opened Dante's present; exactly what she asked for.

Lulu, who had been opening the cards for Lola, picked up the next envelope and slit the flap with her fingernail. She pulled out the card, but soon realized it was not a card but a stack of photographs. She curiously flipped through them, and discovered they were all pictures of Lola that looked like they had been taken from far away. They were all at random moments in the past two months, starting with one from the time Dante had saved them from the rain. There were almost a dozen of them, including one of Lola sleeping in her hospital bed from yesterday. The very last one was a photoshopped picture of Lola on the floor with tape over her mouth and a knife in her chest.


	12. Life Isn't Fair

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Between studying for midterms and 3-hour long play practices, there wasn't really much time to write. Just a heads up: the play is in April, so during February and March, I will have some days where I have to stay until 6:00 or 7:00, and then I'll have homework, so updates will unfortunately be less frequent than usual.

Not a very eventful chapter, but it brought me where I needed to be.

* * *

Life Isn't Fair

Lulu's hands hook as she stared at the pictures, her eyes widened and her face pale. Her throat was dry and she couldn't breathe. She noticed Lola was staring at her, confused about why she was standing there, holding one of her cards.

"What's wrong, mama?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just - just need some - some air. I'll be right back, you keep on opening, okay?" she said.

"Okay," she said, simply pleased to have more gifts to keep opening.

Lulu stepped into the hallway, still holding the pictures in her hand. She dropped down into a waiting room chair and put her head in her hands, the tears already flowing down her face. The pictures fell to the floor, scattering everywhere, as sobs wracked her body uncontrollably. She was thankful that the hallway was empty and no one was around to see her breakdown.

Dante quietly slipped through the door to find Lulu weeping in into her hands with pictures all over the floor. He picked up a few of them and noticed they were all of Lola, including an incredibly disturbing photo shopped one of her with a dagger in her chest. He felt a pang go through his stomach as he dropped into the chair next to her and wrapped his arms around her, tears slipping down his face as well.

For a while they sat that way, with Lulu bent over with her face in her hands and Dante hugging her. That was all she needed; for him to hold her. After nearly ten minutes her sobs subsided and she straightened up, looking at Dante's tear-streaked face. He kissed her softly and she sunk into him, needing something to keep her from toppling over.

"What does he want?" she whispered quietly when they had broken apart.

"I don't know, Lulu. That's kind of always been a mystery. But we'll do our best to keep him away from her, I promise," he said soothingly.

"I know," she breathed. "Why Lola?" she asked, more to herself than Dante. "She doesn't deserve this," she said for the umpteenth time that night.

"I know."

"He's been watching her this whole time. E - even last night," she said, the tears forming again. She leaned down to pick up the pictures, no matter how much pain they brought to her.

"Just leave them, honey," Dante said, but Lulu didn't listen. She gathered them into her arms before catching sight of the one on top; the one that showed Lola dead. She felt her stomach lurch and dropped the photographs, jumping out of her chair. Her insides jumped again and she ran towards the bathroom, thankful that it was so close to Lola's room. She threw open the door and ran into the nearest stall, falling to her knees and vomiting violently into the toilet, grateful that nobody else was in the bathroom to hear her get sick.

Dante entered close behind her, not caring if anyone saw him go in. He saw (and heard) Lulu emptying her stomach into the toilet because of the picture from Franco. He dropped down next to her and pulled her hair back, rubbing her back while he waited for her to finish. She finally sat up, gasping and coughing.

"Sorry," she said, looking apologetically at him. She stood up and flushed the toilet before walking over to the sink, stopping when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red with dark bags under them, her face was practically white, and her hair was a mess. "Holy crap," she muttered, her voice still thick with tears. "Why didn't anyone tell me I looked so horrible?"

"You look fine," said Dante. She rolled her eyes and turned on the water, filling her hands with water and flushing her face with it. She rinsed out her mouth, but she couldn't get rid of the taste in her mouth. She put her back against the wall and sunk to the floor, the tears springing in her eyes again and threatening to spill.

"I can't believe this is happening," she whispered.

"Neither can I," he replied softly, sinking down next to her.

"But why? I don't get it! I just don't freakin' get it! Why her? She's four, four years old, and being targeted by a fucking insane serial killer," she said, her voice barely audible when she had finished.

"I know."

"It's not fair," she sobbed. She banged the back of her head against the wall a few times before Dante stopped her, cradling her head in his hands. He kissed her on the head and pulled her close as she continued to sob.

After almost twenty minutes - or were they hours? - the door opened and Robin came in, stopping in her tracks when she saw the couple on the floor. Lulu looked up and frantically wiped at her tears. Dante stood up and held out his hand for Lulu, who took it and allowed him to pull her up.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, holding back another sob.

"Oh, don't be," the doctor said softly before pulling the young woman into her arms. "You're welcome to use the shower in the locker room. It should be empty for a while."

"Thanks," she said, smiling faintly.

"Just down the hall," Robin said before turning to Dante. "You'd better leave before Epiphany finds you in here," she said with a smirk.

"Right, thanks," he said before gently taking Lulu's arm and leading her out of the bathroom. "I'll tell them you where you went," he said. "You should call Maxie and tell her to bring you some clothes," he said before kissing her forehead and walking back into Lola's room.

After calling Maxie, she entered the locker room and grabbed a towel from the rack, stripping off her clothes and hanging the towel over the top of the stall. She turned the water to its highest maximum heat and stepped under it, wincing in pain before settling into the water. She let it cover her body, the heat soothing her tense muscles and helping her partially relax. But she would always be tense, she would never relax. Not until Lola was safe.

* * *

"Where is mama?" Lola asked Dante.

"She went to take a shower," he said.

Lola stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. "Why?"

"She wasn't feeling too good," he said simply, not caring to explain her multiple breakdowns.

"Oh. When can I go home?"

"I don't know, sweetie. Maybe Robin can tell you, if you ask her." Lola reached up and grabbed the help button next to her bed, pressing it several times before Lucky grabbed it out of her hand.

"Lola, that's only for emergencies," he said.

"I wanted to know when I could leave!" she protested. "That's a uhmergucy!"

Lucky tried to hide his smile. "I think they mean something more serious."

Robin and two other nurses burst into the room, frantic expressions on their faces. "What's wrong?" Robin asked breathlessly.

Everyone spoke at the same time, but Lola was the loudest. "When can I go home?"

"That's why you pressed the button?" Robin asked.

"Uh-huh!"

Robin sighed, but smiled anyway. She glanced at the two nurses behind her, silently telling them that they could leave. "We're not exactly sure when you can leave," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because, honey, you were very, very sick. We're just trying to be sure that you're all better now."

"But I wanna go home today," Lola protested feebly.

"I know you do," Robin said softly. "But we can't risk you getting sick again. Lola, you have to understand that you were very sick. We weren't sure you were going to get better." Dante, Jason and Lucky all winced at her last sentence but said nothing. "You have to stay here so we can be sure you feel better."

"But I do feel better," she insisted.

"I know, sweetie. I'm sorry. You'll be able to go home in a two or three days days, okay?"

"Okay. Can I take the stringies out?" she asked, pointing the the tubes in her wrist. "I don't like them."

Robin smiled. "We'll see, okay?"

"Yeah," Lola said. "I just wanna be better."

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" Maxie asked.

"No, not really. But I'm working on it," Lulu admitted, adding a bit of mascara as she peered into the locker room mirror, Maxie standing next to her with her hand on her hip.

"It's gonna be okay, Lu," Maxie told her best friend, hoping that the words she spoke were truthful.

"How do you know?" Lulu asked quietly, the tears threatening to come back yet again.

"Because! Lola doesn't deserve this, neither do you. No matter how cynical you might be, I'm sure things are going to be okay."

Lulu glanced at Maxie, contemplating her words. Maybe it was true, maybe everything would work out. But maybe was the key word.

"I hope so," she finally said. "I would take her place in an instant, there are dozens of people who would. I just wish it worked that way. I wish life was fair. But it's not."

Her words stung her own heart, but she knew they were true.


	13. Baby Steps

Author's Note: I don't want to whine or be self-righteous, but - 3 reviews? I would understand if this story had one favorite and four reviews, but for a story with 13 favorites and 103 reviews, I honestly expected a little more. I completely understand if you didn't like the chapter, but constructive criticism would be very much appreciated. Plus, the more reviews I get, the faster I update. Hence the super long wait, which I sincerely apologize for.

Thank you so much to GHJasam4Ever, LanteLuv73109, and SomethingSpecial727 for reviewing! You guys are the ones who kept me going! xoxo :D

P.S. The story has changed so that Lola's father isn't quite as bad as he I had said earlier. Don't worry, no third party angst or anything.

* * *

Baby Steps

"Are you sure she's ready?" Lulu asked.

"Yes, she's been ready for three days," said Robin as they stood by the door of the hospital room watching Lola tell Dante about the latest episode of Wow Wow Wubzy. "If I keep her any longer we'll have to actually charge you instead of pretending that there's something we still need to watch."

Lulu sighed. "I'm just so worried about her."

"I know," Robin said, placing a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder before walking over to the bed, clipboard in hand.

"Now?" Lola said impatiently.

"Yes, now," Robin replied with a smile.

"Yay!" she exclaimed jumping out of bed and running towards the door. Lulu reached out her arms and caught Lola before she reached the door, scooping up into her arms and squeezing her tight. Every time she held her daughter was precious, especially when she knew that she was in unspeakable danger.

"Hold on, sweetie."

"Home!" she insisted, squirming and wriggling in her mother's arms.

"Just sign here," said Robin, holding out the clipboard and a pen to Lulu. Lulu transferred Lola to Dante's arms and signed the sheet before picking up Lola's bag of cards and wishes of well-being and leaving the hospital room.

"Bye, hospital," Lola said, waving to no one in particular over Dante's shoulder.

* * *

"Are you sure you're ready?" asked Dante.

"I think so," she said, pulling on her black jacket over her blue silk blouse.

"If you don't want to leave her, I understand," he said.

"I think this would be good for me. I mean, I've barely been out of the house for, what two weeks? She's got basically her entire family and a dozen guards with her. I - oh my God, I sound so selfish. I'm sorry. She should be my number one concern. I should be sitting on her like a hen on an egg - which, actually, would be a pretty accurate comparison, since I'm - I'm rambling."

"Don't worry about it. You're scared for her, just like everyone else is. You have every right to ramble, rant, anything to make you feel better," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

"You're too good to me," she said, leaning into his embrace.

"You deserve it."

"We should go," she said.

"You sure?" he asked again, to which she nodded before walking over to Lola.

"I'll be back soon, okay, baby? I'm just gonna be gone for a little, and if you need me I'll come straight back, okay?"

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Just to have dinner."

"With Dante?"

"Yes, with Dante," she smiled. "If you need me, you can ask Uncle Lucky to call, okay?"

She nodded. "Can I color while you're gone?"

"Yes, you can color."

"Mama, when will the men leave? I don't like them."

"I hope they'll be gone soon. Just promise me you'll be careful?" Lola nodded and Lulu hugged her before walking back over to Dante, taking his arm and leaving.

"Where are we going?" she asked when they had gotten in the car.

"The MetroCourt. I know it's not exactly romantic, but I didn't think you'd want to be away for too long," he said, hoping she wouldn't mind.

"It's perfect," she assured him.

When they reached the hotel, she smiled as he hurried around the car to open the door for her and held his hand out to help her up. He pulled out her chair for her when they got inside and she could tell was truly as charming and gentlemanly as he seemed.

"Your mom sure did a great job of raising you right," Lulu commented after the waiter had taken their orders.

"She was great. I mean, raising a baby at fifteen isn't an easy job. In a way she was all alone, because she didn't want me to be raised around Sonny, but she had all of her family to help as well. When I was growing up, she taught me to respect women, not to get into trouble - although I did earn my fair share of angry nuns. But she really is the best mom I could have asked for, dad or no dad."

"Ooh, a mama's boy," Lulu joked. "It's actually pretty admirable, you know, when a man is close to his mom."

He smiled. "What about your mom? Are you two close?"

Lulu looked down and her smile turned to a sad one. "My mom is in France. She's catatonic, mentally unstable... I talk to her whenever I can, but I barely get to see her. Lola sure misses her Grandma Laura."

"I'm sorry," he said, not being able to imagine life without his ma.

"It's okay. I get along," she smiled. "So, I wanna hear more about you before Port Charles."

"Well, I was living in Bensonhurst, alone. I was a cop at the NYPD, nothing too big. When I was a kid I used to play stickball every day, but not so much as an adult. I, uh, went to Yankees games every now and then. Nothing to exciting, not until I came here," he said, taking her hand. Lulu blushed and smiled. "What about you?"

"Well, I was a bit rebellious as a teenager, but one day about five years ago I was at work and Kate - well, Connie to you - was driving me insane and I didn't feel like dealing with anyone. So I went to a bar a few towns a way and ended up, well, drunk out of my mind. It's mostly a fog, but I ended up sleeping with this guy I didn't know... Oh my god, I sound like an alcoholic slut right now," she said.

"No, it's fine. Everyone deserves to get drunk once an a while," he said as he took a bite of his steak with a smile.

"Thanks. So anyway, about two weeks later I found out I was pregnant. I was freaking out, of course, because the only person I had been with was the guy at the bar. Sometime that night I must have put his number in my phone, so I knew his name. I looked him up and he turned out to be some mob soldier with a record of breaking and entering. He turned up dead a few weeks later. I was really unsure about having Lola, but eventually I decided she was just what I needed. And that was that."

"Must be hard for her, growing up without a dad. It was hard for me. But she's got a fabulous mom," he said, and Lulu blushed again.

"I can tell it bothers her, to see her friends with their dads. Nikki has Jason, Emma has Patrick, and Lucky's boys have him. But she's got a billion people who are her dad in every way that counts, and I'm grateful for that." She was tempted to add the fact that Lola had frequently brought up Dante being her dad, but she thought that would probably freak him out a bit.

The waiter approached their table and asked, "How is everything?"

"Great, thanks. Can I get the check?" Dante said.

"Sure," she said before leaving.

"How much do I owe you?" Lulu asked when he had gotten the bill.

"Don't be ridiculous," he said. "Every gentleman pays on the first date."

"I know, but I've put you through so much-"

"Shh," he said placing a finger on her lips. "Let's go," he said, holding out her coat for her to put on.

When the elevator doors opened, Lulu and Dante were surprised to see Olivia standing before them. "Hi, sweethearts," she greeted them, hugging them both. "How's Lola doing?"

"She's much better. I think she's a little shaken up, but she doesn't really realize the seriousness of the situation. Which is a good thing," she decided.

"That's great. I won't keep you two. But you," she said, pointing a finger at Dante. "Call your mother."

"I will," he said, a bit embarrassed that his ma had said such a thing in front of his girlfriend - at least he hoped she was.

* * *

"Thank you, I really needed this." she said when they were standing on their floor of the apartment building. She kissed him and felt the sparks that came every time she kissed him. She hooked an arm around his neck and pulled herself closer, feeling the electricity run from her head to her toes. She was tempted to take it further, as she was every time they got close. The kiss lasted longer and Lulu led him towards his apartment door without taking her lips from his.

"Are you sure-"

"I called Lucky when you were in the bathroom at the restaurant and he said everything was fine and Lola was asleep. I'm sure they'd call us if something happened. We'll be quick," she said before kissing him again.

"Then what are we waiting for?" he said, moving his lips to her neck and pulling his keys out of his pocket to open the door.


	14. Explanations

Author's Note: I 'borrowed' and changed a tiny bit of a scene from the actual show, see if you can spot it, it should be easy.

Wow, you guys are awesome! Thanks to SomethingSpecial727, Goggiebe, flutterby-by, jenny crum, elizabethlem1980, SoapNanny, GHJaSam4Ever, pinkribbon71, zigstersmomma, looneytaz65, and ghfan99.

* * *

Explanations

Her eyes had seen fireworks and her body had been to Heaven and back. Now they laid next to each other, breathless and panting, their bodies intertwined and slick with sweat.

"Wow," she breathed, quietly but loud enough for Dante to hear.

"Wow is right," he said, turning so that their foreheads were touching. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," said Lulu, pushing her face forward and kissing him briefly. She looked past him over to the bedside table and read the clock. "Mm, I don't want to leave," she began. "But everyone will think we escaped to your place to have sex."

"We wouldn't want them to think that, would we?" Dante smiled. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled them over so they were on the edge of the bed, then stood up and simultaneously shifted her so he was holding her bridal style in his arms. He kissed her on the nose and set her down, before setting out on a hunt for his clothes, which had probably been scattered all over the apartment.

"Impressive," she commented as she scoured the room for her clothes as well.

"I do my best," he called from the other room, pulling on his pants which had somehow been draped over the fern in the corner.

"I'm missing a shoe," Lulu said as she walked into the front room, holding only one heel in her hand.

"Yeah, I think it got up and walked out of here when we were busy," he said, handing it to her after picking it up from under the table.

"Thank you," she said, sitting down and pulling them on her feet.

Lulu and Dante returned to her apartment just short of an hour after they had left. The front room was full of guards, family and friends that had formed a group of body guards for Lola. They all glanced up when the two walked through the door, but most of them turned back to whatever they had been doing.

"Mama!" Lola exclaimed, running Lulu and jumping up into her mom's arms. Lulu swung her around and kissed her head and Lola buried her head into her shoulder.'

"Did you miss me?" Lulu asked. Lola nodded, her blonde curls bouncing as her head moved.

"I wanna show you my picshure," she said, jumping down and running to the coffee table. "See?" she said, pointing to the crudely drawn picture she was holding. "That's me and you and Uncle Lucky and Dante," she explained, pointing to the four people that consisted of a circle with facial features on it and four lines that she assumed were arms and legs sticking out. "And we're in our house, see?" she said, running her finger along the line in the middle of the paper. "And those are the mans that stay here," she whispered, pointing to the group of people that had been drawn on the other side of the line.

"I know you want them to leave," said Lulu. "But they're going to help you be safe, okay?"

"But I am safe!" she insisted.

"Well, we have to make sure you stay safe," she explained. "Did you have dinner?"

"Well..." she said reluctantly. "I had twenty-four Cheer-ohs and some orange juice. And then Uncle Lucky gave me some ice cream. But he said not to tell you," she said, holding a finger to her pursed pink lips.

Lulu decided not to pursue her brother about spoiling his niece today; after all, he had been living with them for almost two weeks now. "Time for bed," she said, realizing it was almost 9:00.

"Ma-_ma,_" she moaned, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting.

"Come on, Lola. You want a story?" she asked, taking her hand and leading her to her bedroom.

"No Mama story tonight," she said.

"Who's story, then? Uncle Lucky? Uncle Jason?"

"Could I have a Dante story?" Lola asked.

"You have to ask him," said Lulu. "Jammies and teeth first, honey."

"Dante," Lola whispered, pulling on his pant leg after she had readied herself for bed.

"Yeah, Lola?"

"Could you tell me a story?" she asked.

Dante looked up to see Lulu smiling at them from across the room. She nodded, giving him the okay. "Sure," he said, following her into the very pink room.

He told her about the time he had found a scraggly puppy on the side of the road and, since Olivia had forbid having a dog in the house, had snuck him back home. He hid it in his room for weeks before, one day, he came home to find his mother unpacking the groceries, including a pound of dog food. Olivia, who had found every single secret hiding place of Dante's, had found the dog just a few days after he had brought him home and had secretly been walking him ever since. She had planned on bringing the dog to an animal shelter as soon as she got Dante had gotten the guts to tell her about his secret, but ended up falling in love with it and letting him keep it. Eventually they had seen a sign advertising a lost dog on a telephone pole and had to return it, but Olivia had ended up ending him get another dog anyway.

"I like doggies," Lola murmured just before her eyes shut and she fell asleep.

* * *

"Hey," Dante grumbled, kissing Lulu on the cheek. There were about half a dozen air mattresses set up in the living room for Jason, Lucky, Dante, and the four guards that had been assigned to Lola by the PCPD, but they weren't exactly comfortable, especially after sleeping on the for two weeks.

"Hey, sleepyhead," she teased.

"What are you making?" he asked, sitting down heavily in the kitchen chair.

"Scrambled eggs, my specialty," she joked. "In case you haven't noticed, I probably qualify for one of those World's Worst Chef shows."

"What about that first time I had dinner here?"

"Italian order-in," she said, walking to the fridge and pulling out the entire carton of eggs.

There was a loud rapping on the door and Dante got up to answer it. The guards had assembled them around the front door, guns in hand. Lulu was glad that Lola was still asleep and not able to witness the violence that could have taken place. She knew she would have to learn about this side of the world eventually, but today was not the day.

Dante opened the door to reveal a tall man with a build that rivaled Jason's. Upon seeing the guns pointed at him, he stepped back and held his hands up in defeat.

"Who are you?" asked Dante.

"Zachary Lawrence, did I do something wrong?" he answered.

There was a splat from the kitchen as Lulu dropped the egg she was holding and turned towards the front door. Dante was confused as he noticed the look of utter shock on Lulu's face.

"What the hell..." she trailed off.

"Look, if I could just talk to you-" Zachary said when he noticed her standing there in pajama pants and a tank top.

"You know him?" asked Lucky, who was standing behind Dante.

"Yes," Lulu said. "Please leave," she said to Zachary.

"Please-"

"If she wants you to leave, you're going to leave," Jason demanded menacingly form where he was standing in the kitchen with Lulu.

"Just hear me out!" Zachary begged.

Lulu was hesitant, but decided she could afford to listen to what Zachary had to say. She walked slowly towards the door, stopping to reach out and take a gun from one of the guard's hands. "Are you armed?" she asked.

"No." One of the guards quickly patted him down, uncovering nothing.

"If you don't want to talk to him-" Dante said, realizing that this man was probably dangerous since Lulu felt the need to bring a weapon.

"It's fine. Just give us a minute," she said, walking past Zachary and out into the hallway. Zachary followed and closed the door behind them.

"I can explain-" he began, but Lulu cut him off.

Lulu knew everyone would probably be standing with their ears against the door, just waiting for her to scream for help, so she kept her voice down. "Yeah, an explanation would be nice. How the hell are you even alive?" she demanded, gripping the gun tightly in her hand.

"I had to fake my death, for my protection. You'd understand, if you were in my situation."

"Your situation, meaning being a criminal? Well, fortunately, I'm not. But I'll have you know I don't want you anywhere near me and my daughter. Leave. Don't come back, if you know what's good for you," she said strongly. She kept her ground and waited for Zachary to leave, which he did hesitantly. She turned and went back inside, dreading the explanation she knew she would have to supply.

"Who was that?" Dante, Jason and Lucky all asked in unison.

Lulu sighed and walked past them, sitting down on the couch and looking up at the ceiling.

"That... was Lola's father."


	15. Looking For Answers

A/N: Sooo sorry for being late. Barely any Lante in this chapter :'( I know, I'm horrible. But I needed this to keep the story going. Lots of love to Lante4ever, elizabethlem1980, SomethingSpecial727, amblue36, jenny crum, GHJaSam4Ever, Goggiebe, and ghfan99 for reviewing.

I am obviously not a lawyer, so don't get upset when I make mistakes.

* * *

Looking For Answers

Dante, Jason and Lucky were silent. Lulu's eyes flickered between them and she hoped they would just say something already instead of staring at her like she had grown a second head.

"Lola's father... the dead one?" asked Jason.

"Well... apparently not dead, but yeah."

"What the hell?" Lucky exclaimed.

"He said he faked his death," she said.

"I thought he was a criminal," Dante said.

"He is," she said.

"I'll call the station." Lucky picked up the phone and left the room. A few minutes later he came back with a frown on his face. "Ronnie said he's been cleared of all charges. Somehow they proved him innocent."

"D'you think he'll want joint custody?" she asked worriedly.

"I hope not. But I don't think we should tell Lola about this," said Jason.

"Definitely not," she said. Just then they noticed Lola in the doorway, still in pajamas and her thumb in her mouth.

"What are you not gonna tell me 'bout?" she asked.

"Nothing sweetheart. What do you want for breakfast?"

* * *

Zachary Lawrence sat in his lawyer's office. "I want custody of my daughter."

"_You_ have a daughter?" asked William Stein. After being Mr. Lawrence's lawyer for so long he had never once heard a mention of a daughter.

"Yes. She's four now. I faked my death around the time her mother got pregnant." He knew he could trust William, so he decided to tell him the whole truth. "I had some charges piled up against me, and I was being targeted, so I disappeared. Honestly, I never really had any interest in her until recently. Since you managed to make the charges go away, I thought I should bring her back into my life."

"Are you sure? A kid is a big responsibility, Zach. You might regret this."

"I'm sure. Make it happen."

"I can't get you full custody, Zach. Her mother's been taking care of her for all these years while you've been gone, there's no way the judge would take her away from her mom. I can take a stab at joint custody, though."

"I don't care about the specifics. Just get it done. Soon."

* * *

Lola sat with her crayons on the couch, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. The phone rang and she instantly grabbed it, glad that her mom wasn't in the room to see because she had repeatedly told her not to answer it.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hello, is this Lola?" asked Zach.

"Uh-huh. What's your name?" she asked.

"My name is Zach. I'm a friend of your mom's."

"Oh. Did you come to my house before? 'Cause I don't remember a man named Zach."

"No, I never came to your house, kid. Can you put your mom on?"

"Why did you never come?" she asked.

"Kid, can you just put your mom on?" asked Zach, who was getting tired of the little girl's questions.

"I don't know where mama is," she said.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Listen, can I tell you a secret?"

"Yeah!"

"I'm your dad," he said.

"No. My daddy's in Heaven. He isn't gonna come back."

"Well, there was a mistake, kid, and I came back. I'm at your house now. Do you think you could open the door?" he asked.

"I isn't supposed to open the door. Mama said. 'Specially since I got sick."

"Could you open it for your dad?" he asked.

"Well, I guess so," she said. Lola got up and reached up to unlock the door, and then pulled it open.

"Lola!" Lulu yelled. "You do not open the door, remember?" she said as she ran into the room with the two guards behind her. She stopped when she saw Zachary. "I told you to stay away from us. Leave! I'll call the cops!"

"Mama, that's my daddy! Don't yell at him!"

Lulu's angry eyes met his satisfied ones. "You..." she whispered. "Lola, go. I'll talk to you later."

"But I wanna-"

"_Go_," she said more sternly, and Lola obeyed.

"I don't want you in her life! You left her, and you're not allowed to just come back! Get out!" she screamed. She was glad Dante, Lucky and Jason had gone home for a while today so they wouldn't witness her freaking out like this.

"I'm filing for joint custody," he said simply.

"You're-" she began loudly. "You wouldn't. You can't. You won't."

"I will."

"No!"

"Court's in three days. I suggest you call your lawyer."

"Why can't you just stay away from us?" she exclaimed tearfully. "Please," she begged.

"She's my daughter. My flesh and blood. She's mine."

"She's not yours! She's not! She's mine! She will never be your daughter!" she shrieked.

"Biology would say otherwise. I'll see you in court. Have a nice day. Tell Lola I can't wait to spend some time with her."

"No," she said. Zach turned and left, leaving Lulu standing there with mascara streaking down her face and the guards standing behind her, not sure if they should attempt to comfort her or not.

She couldn't believe it. She was her daughter, her baby, her Lola. And he was going to try to take her away.

* * *

Alexis looked over the file again and consulted her huge book. She tried desperately to find a loophole, something she had missed before. But there was nothing to be found.

"I'm sorry Lulu... there's no way I can see to get out of this."

"There has to be!"

"I've looked dozens of times, and I can't find anything. You could always talk about how you raise her by yourself and he left you two, but he could always say that he was in danger and he had to protect himself. You're more than welcome to consult another lawyer, but..."

"I trust you, Alexis. You're the best. If you can't find a way out of this... I don't know what to do," she said with despair.

Alexis felt horrible for Lulu. She knew she would hate it if someone tried to take her girls from her, and she knew how much Lulu had been through with her little girl.

"I'll have Diane look over it, and I'll keep working, I promise. If nothing comes up, we'll just have to hope for the best in court."

Lulu smiled sadly and exited the office. But she knew that hoping for the best wouldn't be enough.


End file.
